Antics of an Alcoholic
by drunkenAustrian
Summary: Embrace humanity, embrace madness.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is certainly awkard, but all things will have to start off somehow, I guess... The whole thing here isn't really all too well as of the moment, probably some plotholes in the first chapter. Also the fact that I suddenly change the narrator's perspective form first person to third won't add up to the continuity, but I felt limited by doing it that way.**

 **Don't expect any fluff and such, maybe a bit, but with this story I will probabyl go all guns blazing with the violence and sexual content, things may get out of hand later on, depending on how the MC will handle things. Don't expect a normal Kancolle fic with a new admiral coming to the base, as things here will most likely go haywire from a certain point on. Before writing I pondered on the idea of how things would play out on RL with the whole ship girl shit, so I decided to add more military development from a different perspective to this story, meaning crazed cyborgs(MC+others), mad mutants and transgressing technology will play a big role here.**

 **First and foremost I would like to thank all authors here in the KanColle section for giving me enough motivation to finally do something for myself through their endeveours! Additonally I thank the Kaiserreich Modding Team for creating the Hoi IV Kaiserreich mod which to some extent(America) influenced this story. KanColle and any other brands that get mentioned in this story are not mine and I own nothing besides my own OCs in this story.**

 **Hopping for you to get some enjoyment out of this,**

 **Schnitzel.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Arrival and Alcohol  
**

 _Should I get another drink?_ I pondered around, swinging an empty glass through the air, trying to make the time go by faster. But time was a fickle entity, so much that time straight out acted against you all time. So instead of annoying activities passing by faster and the enjoyable moments lasting longer, the opposite happens. While a school day can feel like an everlasting eternity, sitting the whole night in front of your PC can feel like mere moments. I am someone who has been trying to get behind this phenomenon since he was a little child, but it seemingly ignores the laws of physics. And I am pretty sure that enjoying something won't increase or decrease relativistic mass to such an extent. If it were so then boy oh boy, we most wouldn't even exist. It's probably just something psychological, so I shouldn't worry about it too much. But I should make a mental note, so that I can look it up on the internet later on.

But for what am I even waiting and what kind of frustration am I trying to wash away with alcohol? The first question is a rather easy one when talking about answering it. To make it short, I am currently on a plane flying from the New German Empire to Japan. Pretty short, but it is summing up what I am currently doing, but the longer version would answer questions, which the shorter creates. Here goes nothing then: My name is Scipio, not my real name, but the one I am currently going by. I chose it at the start of my military career, as he is one of my favourite generals from antiquity. I currently hold the rank of Admiral. A very prestigious position, even before they arrived, but now it is even more important since pretty much most of the maritime trade is dependant from the marine now. You see, five years ago new beings arrived on planet earth. These beings are called the abyss, looking like the mad fusion of women and a hentai lovers wet dream. In the first months global trade came to an end, then the financial system completely imploded in itself, followed by global revolutions. The USA got hit pretty bad, after everything went down and the government acted in an incompetent way it felt like Europe 1848 all over again. What I mean by that are country wide revolutions, leading to what one could call the New States of America. Four major powers sprouted out from this chaos and took over the US. The Pacific States got together in a Union, reigned by a liberal congress. Then there is the south, all the former states of the Confederation got enough of the Yanks and raised their CSA flags. The northern parts, around Chicago and Detroit were taken over by a socialist-workers movement. New England was annexed by Canada in a quick military exercise and the former US government remained to exist in the inner mainland of the north American continent. The area around Washington and New York was declared a DMZ and is now being ruled by a Republic.

South America and parts of Middle America fell into complete mayhem. Combining the instable position of many states there with a global financial crisis was enough and the black powder box exploded. Only a few states got a hold on themselves by now and are slowly getting back to normality, if you can call it this. Africa pretty much split into two unions, the northern and southern union. The northern one is being led by Egypt and the southern one by South Africa. The middle east is now locked in a three-way cold war between Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran. Mainland Asia got away pretty much unscathed and took an isolationist stance. China, oh boy China got hit as bad as the US and pretty much the same happened there. Incompetent management and revolution. The country is split into north and south. While the northern part remained socialist, the southern part with Shanghai as its capital took a liberal approach. Japan, the place I am heading towards now, has been taken over by the Emperor himself. So, they are now back to pre-1945. The first thing they did was helping out South Korea in the second Korean War, but then Japan used the power vacuum to install a puppet government.

Europe was able to handle the crises a bit better and was quicker to adapt. The first that happened was the dissolution of the EU. It wasn't really smashed into pieces by a big revolution, but by more and more members leaving it. The first one to leave was Germany. In the years before the abyssal incursion the refugee crisis was hitting new heights, with more and more Germans being discontent with the actions taken by the government, the elections of 2017 gave rise to an authoritarian party. Combining liberal views on economics with a more efficient way of handling political affairs it achieved to get a majority of the votes. The first thing they did was to unconditionally leave the EU. They did this since Germany was paying a lot of money to sick countries like Greece or Spain. This pretty much cast the EU in a down-ward spiral, which resulted into more and more members leaving. By autumn 2018 the EU was history. 2018 and 2019 were years of complete chaos in Europe. France was hit by many revolutions; the bigger cities became warzones between nationalistic gangs and the self-proclaimed Islamic state of France. With the lack of payment many soldiers started to desert and soon the state had no army. The police force was completely overrun by these rioters and many of them joined either of those two afterwards. The same happened to most of southern Europe too, as those states were unable to run their countries without the payment from other EU members.

In the year 2020, after stabilising most of the domestic affairs and establishing a self-sufficient economy, Germany took a more expansionistic stance looked towards Austria. The alpine republic was heavily damaged by the lack of imports, leading towards a state of near collapse. In the treaty of Linz Austria was annexed into Germany. At first many Austrians were enraged by this rash decision, but after monetarily aid and supplies arrived, parts of the Austrian populace began to rethink their stance on this issue. Then the region of Alsace-Loraine, a former part of the German Empire, now part of France was the integrated into the Germany. In exchange France received military aid so that they can get out of their quasi civil war status. The Czech Republic was hit as hard as the other Slavic states, but in the treaty of Pilsen was integrated as a half autonomous region into the German State. The final steps were directed towards Poland. Due to complete failure of their state, German minorities in Schlesien and Pommern were being persecuted and discriminated. With the new nationalistic view of the German State an ultimatum was being sent towards Poland. Make sure the German minorities can live a, for this time, adequate live or face military actions.

Since the polish state was unable to make a follow up, the German State started a coup et tat and replaced the polish government in a swift action with a puppet government. The regions of Schlesien, Pommern and old Prussia were reintegrated. With domestic and external affairs secured for now, Germany renamed itself into the New German Empire. The government was reformed into an authoritarian system with publicly open parliament. The former head of state, the Bundespräsident was replaced by the new Kaiser of Germany.

In order to secure resources and allies a trade union between various European states, including Russia was established. Russia in itself wasn't hit as hard as the other two super powers, but a serious of pre-abyssal sanctions and import bans have severely hurt the former super power. The now weakened country was quick to sign the free trade treaty. This treaty helped both countries, as Germany now had access to the vast resources of Russia and Russia could use the money from the trade to rebuild infrastructure and upgrade their military.

Germany also used this age of strife to rebuild their military. At first the Bundeswehr was renamed to Deutsche Streitkräfte, then a national conscription for six months was established. Also the job of being a soldier was now being better paid then before. Deals with Kraus-Maffei and Heckler&Koch were struck, leading to an expansion of both infantry and armoured forces. In order to combat the Abyssal threat, the marine of Germany was upgraded and expanded.

And this is where I start to play a role in this whole affair. I joined the army's officer academy with the age of twenty in the year of 2017, three years late I completed my education and had my baptism of fire in the second battle of Jutland. I was given command of a land based artillery battalion, which had the order to fire on any Abyssal ships that are coming to close to the shore.

One day before the operation was about to start, the complete command chain had to take part in a final briefing, but due to me having a constant guard order, I had to remain near the coast. My orders would have come late over radio. But then, everything went south. Somehow the Abyssals managed to decrypt our coded signal and knew of the meeting. We weren't prepared for the sudden attack of bomber planes and the follow up land attack. After the attack happened I was the highest up in command, who was in a fit enough condition to lead the forces. The first thing for me to do was to get rid of the abyssal land force. I got intel on their location via satellite and issued a bombardment order onto the beach head the Abyssals made. The landing devices were completely destroyed and, so they were trapped on the mainland.

While those creatures were able to walk and operate on land, they had to switch their gear for such operations. After having studied the limited courses on abyssal biology they had in the academy, I was quick to see that those landing devices also held their maritime gear. Afterwards the seventh Panzer-Division destroyed the land forces with a barrage of AP-shells.

With the land secured, I could now commence the with the real operation. The goal of this mission was to protect ships that would place a large layer of mines into the sea corridor between Denmark and Sweden. The mines would allow the combined navy of Germany, Russia and the Scandinavian countries to completely monitor the naval movement in this area, thus making the Baltic sea safe enough for trade. But the forces of the abyss would surely have something against this and so it was now my duty to protect these ships. I had a fleet of screening ships at my disposal, but also the support of land based artillery. Since the Abyssals had their own air force that was extremely deadly for slower flying planes and helicopters, depth charges couldn't really be used. I could only rely on precision strikes from multirole fighters.

The problem was that if the enemy managed to get towards the mine ships, they would easily dismantle them with their advantage in agility. I took this into consideration and created a plan, where a ``lent´´ fleet of civilian ships would lure the Abyssals towards them. I signalled the radio team, to send a message through the channel the enemy used to gather information of the meeting. Keeping it short, my plan succeeded, and I had the Abyssals flocked up at a position where I could bombard them with everything we had. With my formerly established connections to the Research and Development department, I knew about an experimental anti matter bomb. The researchers were keen upon getting a chance to test their weapon and attached the bomb to a Eurofighter. Not too much was promised, and the bomb showed its calculated effect, the whole fleet had been wiped out by the blast and the mine ships were able to lay a carpet of deadly explosives.

Afterwards I was awarded many military decorations and was granted the rank of admiral, partly to the now apparent lack of leading personnel. While we were securing the Baltic sea, the Japanese took over the reins in the pacific due to a military breakthrough. It was nothing short as a wonder, since it gave them the ability to fight the enemy on equal footing. The called them Fleet Girls. Humanoid, but the manifestations of spirits from WW2 Era war ships. And they wanted to trade this technology with us, but not for free. Japan had the means to beat the abyss, but lacked something fundamentally. The lacked the experience. So for exchange of my humble self and some of our research, we would get a machine that could create the so called Fleet Girls. I had no choice but to agree.

And so, we find ourselves back in the plane. It was a military transport plane, an American C-17 Globemaster to be specific. It would take me and military hardware to Tokyo, where I would be stationed at Yokosuka-Naval Base. I found myself pondering again about getting a drink, the flight would still take an hour and I was too lazy to just read something. Sleeping was out of question, a military plane of this type isn't known for its comfort and I am not even tired, so I would just try in vain. I made a decision, to further my alcoholic addiction and so I indulged myself into the next beer, conveniently the crate of beer was standing right besides me. Over this nine-hour flight I managed to waste about one and a half crates of beer, meaning around 36 bottles. 36 divided by two equals 18. So I drunk 18 litres over the course of nine hours? Well, I had to visit the toilet pretty often during the flight, leading to the pilots asking me if I was sick. Drinking this much alcohol could be considered sick, but I am hard to get drunk, so I am just trying to reach new heights. Well considering that 18 litres of beer equal 0.9 litres of pure ethanol, I got pretty drunk over the course of this flight and I just left the state of being wasted recently. Getting drunk to work isn't something that would be appreciated, so this will be last beer. For the course of the flight.

I mentioned military hardware earlier on. I am talking about various research prototypes, vehicles and guns. But, there is also a rather big cargo crate in the middle of the plane. This one belongs to, it includes the essentials allowing my puny existence daily survival. I am not talking about medical machines or livers, I am talking about three things. Food, alcohol and my computer. These three things are essential. How would I be able to make it through the day without my Hungarian salami or my beverages or my rig? I am certainly not going to eat cheap imitates of good sausages or drink bad beer. And the computer? How would I be able to rest at night without looking at my proud collection of anime girls, playing my favourite video games or write shitty stories? Absolutely impossible! I am a man of culture; thus I need those things.

With every minute our arrival drew closer and I began to feel something foreign. Was this nervousness? Probably, being ripped from your new position, including a healthy pay check isn't something enjoyable. But there are also a lot of good things. For example, I will be able to attend the Comiket and visit Akiba. As a proud degenerate those things mean a lot to me. So I am more than nervous. I am thrilled! A new experience to enlighten me! But I should not overreact, this is not vacation, but a military mission. Therefore I need to show them what the New German Empire is capable of.

The speaker of the cargo bay turned on: `` We are approaching the airport, take your seats and fasten your seat belts!´´ I was already sitting, so I only needed to fasten the seat belt, a quick motion of my hands and the deed was done. I put on a smirk. We are soon there and this meant one thing, I was closer to defeating more of the abyss. The feeling, which I felt after defeating them. After all the defeats we suffered at their hands, it was simply exhilarating. I want more of it, tasting this forbidden fruit of pleasure is now my new thrive.

But I shouldn't let my feelings and emotions take over control of this body that I call mine. Unguided actions and rash decisions only to certain downfall, not befitting a recently made Admiral. I need to be very considered in my decision-making, otherwise I will only bring shame onto myself and the Empire. This will be the perfect opportunity to gain the technology to face the enemy on the open field. While I am confident in my tactical ability, I know that my victory at Jutland was mostly done by luck and the enemies incompetence. A mistake they will now try to avoid.

The effectiveness of those Abyssals against our ships and planes is not what bugs me the most, but rather that they were able to break our codes. Either they have some first-rate code breakers or someone leaked them. Both options have valid points, but in these times, we need flexibility and stiffly fixating on one of those is not wat I would call flexibility.

The landing procedure of the plane ripped out of my train of thought and I was cast back into reality. The plane touched the ground in a gentle manner and we landed safely on the run way. It took a few more moments for the plane to come to a halt, I applauded to the pilot and took of my seat belt, then making a few steps towards the still closed ramp of the transport plane. With slow tempo and a creaking noise the thing opened, letting the fresh, maritime air of the night greet me. 1 a.m. I just looked at my watch to confirm my date of arrival. The ramp continued to slowly lower itself, I spent the time in thought, only for it to be interrupted again, as the pilot signalled that the ramp reached its temporary location. With vigour in my steps, I walked it down graciously, taking into view the two soldiers who are supposed to escort me towards the naval base.

I walked towards them, both instantly straightening up and saluting to me. I nodded at their salutation and signalled them that it was okay to be at ease.

`` Welcome, Admiral Scipio! We hope that your flight was enjoyable. If you would please follow us to the transport vehicle, Admiral Shiro is keen on meeting you. ´´, he said to me.

`` Let us not waste time then, but what about my luggage? Will it be brought to the naval base in due time? ´´, I asked them.

`` Absolutely, Admiral! The transporters are already on their way. ´´, he replied.

I nodded in acknowledgment and followed them to my transport vehicle. It was a black Mercedes, S-class giving off a very luxurious atmosphere. As we arrived one of the soldiers opened a door for me, I took the invitation and entered the car in the back row. A driver was already in the car, so we started immediately after I buckled up. The ride was rather unspectacular, considering that I didn't get much to see, but also since I was reading a report on my smartphone. Apparently, the technology for creating Fleet Girls arrived in the Empire and our scientists were eager to test it out. The one who wrote me this message was a high-ranking member in the R&D department, but also an old friend of mine, whim I had known since grammar school. His name is Gregor Schröder and he joined the army at the same age as me, but was there for different reasons. While I aimed for commanding positions, he got recommended from a university for his gift of analytical thinking. When the abyssal first attacked, he was pushed into R&D to analyse their behaviour.

It was good hearing from him again, he was also the one who informed me about the anti-matter bomb, therefore I hold him in high regards as a live saver. He will also be the one to compilate a list of the Fleet Girls abilities and faults in order to make suggestions for the augmentation teams.

The ride took about more than half an hour and we finally arrived at the naval base. Before I was even unbuckled, the door to my right was opened by a Japanese soldier. I exited the car and he saluted towards me, which I acknowledged and without further ado he lead me towards the office of Admiral Shiro. While we were walking I let my gaze wander around the base, but since it was night, I didn't really see anything spectacular besides a few tired guards playing a game of poker. Fitting in with the situation I unbuttoned my jacket and took out a small bottle of brandy. My guide got wind of the aroma and turned his head around a little. I could the see the longing in his eyes and after I took a sip, I offered him the bottle. He accepted it whole heartedly and also took a sip, the returning it to me.

`` Thank, you very much Admiral. ´´, he said.

`` No problem. It must be very stressful here, I guess? ´´

`` Correct, sir. This base was just renovated a month ago and with a lack of personnel things are bound to get hectic. Not only that, but some of the newcomers here are a bit…, let's say unbefitting. ´´, he replied, letting out a sigh.

`` You mean the Fleet Girls? But I can relate to what you just started. After we lost a considerable amount of commanding personnel all hell broke loose, since we had to deal with a wave of unexperienced officers, fresh from the academy. ´´

`` Correct, Sir. ´´

After our small chat, we arrived at the office of Admiral Shiro. The soldier who brought me here, told me to enter without him since he was needed elsewhere. I opened the door in front of me and entered the white building. The building was very silent and I only saw a few officers still working, probably dealing with arduous paper work. The room of the Admiral was at the end of the corridor, which I found rather easily. I knocked at the door and waited for a short moment, until someone said _Enter_ judging from his voice Admiral Shiro was in his forties, probably sprouting a few grey hairs.

My judgment was correct and he appeared to be as described. Short, black hair with a hint of grey in the centre and the a few wrinkles under his eyes. The man stood up and walked towards me, then stretching out his right hand. I returned the gesture and shook his hand with mine.

`` Welcome, at Yokosuka naval base, Admiral Scipio. I hope that your ride towards here was sufficient enough, since everything here right now is a bit stressful. ´´

`` There is nothing to complain, Admiral Shiro. Everything was to my satisfaction, I am thankful for you having me here. ´´, I returned to him.

`` No, no, we need to thank you. ´´, he replied to me, `` Having an individual with your experience here will certainly turn the tide. ´´

`` You are flattering me´´, I told him while I scratched the back of my head, then I took something out from the bag that I carried by my side: `` This is for you, a personal favourite of mine. ´´

The object in question was a 700 ml bottle of pear Schnapps from an Austrian distillery, which I held in high regards. The shape of the flask was relatively broad and its high was comparable to a standards issue ruler. With 46% the sting of this liquid can be quite unfamiliar for a beginner, but the amount of alcohol will make sure that the aromas of this treat are delivered well enough.

The admiral in front of me smiled at the gesture and took the bottle with a smile. Afterwards he placed it into the cabinet behind him and took out a bundle of keys, he placed them in front of me and gestured to take them. I looked at them with interest and guessed that they were for my apartment, but also various different buildings.

`` Sadly I wasn't able to find a gift for you, so those keys are the only thing I can give you for the time being. These keys are as you surely guessed not only for your apartment, but also for most of the buildings here at the naval base. ´´, he made a short pause and pulled out two sheets of papers, `` These here will help you get around the area. ´´, he showed me the first paper. It was an Excel table, with various names and an accompanying number. `` Here are the numbers indicating, which key is for which building. Every key has a number graved into it, so don't worry about not knowing which key you need. ´´

He gave me the first sheet and then showed me the following. This time it was a detailed map of the base, giving information about most of the buildings. `` A simple map, not much to say I guess. ´´, he added as he handed it over to me, accompanying the action with a yawn.

`` Long day? ´´, I asked him.

`` Yes, the paper work is pretty demanding. Most of it should have been done already, but the mechanics told me that there were many things missing in their arsenal, so now I need to wright about twenty letters of request to the higher ups. ´´

`` Sorry that I interrupted you then. ´´, I said apologetically.

`` No, no! You brought some much-needed distraction, otherwise I would have gone mental here with this constant writing! But I should now return to this arduous task and you must certainly be tired after your long journey. ´´, he replied with a grin.

`` Well, I won't take more of your time then. One final question, has my stuff already been brought to my apartment? ´´, I asked him while I stood up from the wooden chair.

`` Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you that. Luckily, we had a free transporter and were able to bring it over here, but if you don't mind my curiosity, what is in this container? ´´

`` No problem in telling, it's just a bunch of personal stuff and consumables, including whisky, beer and some European specialties. ´´, I replied to his question, putting on a friendly smile.

`` Hahahaha, the youth, I guess. Well, I wish you a good night then, Scipio-san. ´´, he said back to me.

`` Wish you a good night too! ´´, I returned to him while leaving the room.

I walked back the same course as route as I before and found myself quickly outside of the big building. The first thing I did was taking a look at the map and checking out my current location. After a quick search I found the office of the admiral, therefore getting a hint of where I actually was. Immediately afterwards, the other sheet was drawn that had the different buildings and their numbers written onto it. The number of my apartment was 31 and therefore relatively low on the list. Discarding the second sheet, I refocused onto the other one in order to find out where I would be spending upcoming months.

The building was located relatively quickly, but I doubted that I would be able to reach it with the first try. I sighed, giving me a guide would probably had been asked to much, considering that most people at this time of the day were sleeping or had some annoying, but important jobs to do. This problematic situation was a callsign for me to take another sip from my brandy, so I took out the small glass bottle out of my brown leather jacket and gulped the remaining fluid down.

A small burning sensation was left in my throat, as I swallowed it and I felt mildly refreshed from the situation. Next I took another gaze at the map and sighed again. `` Here we go then. ´´, I muttered to myself with little enthusiasm.

I turned to the right, entering an alley between to buildings that were located besides the office. Keeping a steady pace I walked along the dark way before me, every step drowning me more and more into thought. _Walking along this alley, then after leaving it turn right again until I reach the dock, then walk along them with the sea to your right and viola, you reach your stay at the sea._

Following the rather simple instruction, I navigated through the naval base until I reached the aforementioned stay. I was mildly surprised to see that it was actually a bungalow and that I wouldn't have to keep the volume of my music down. I also found the thing quicker than expected, since the container was staying in front of it.

`` I am not really tired, so I can actually start to carry this shit into my bungalow, I guess. ´´, I said out loud and shrugged my shoulders.

But before I was able to start with this mindless task, a figure stumbled into me from behind and threw me of balance. Threw me off balance is not the best term to describe this exactly, I rather felt like a fucking car hit me full throttle, so therefore my body was catapulted away, and I flew a few meters into the distance. I was quick to react and stretched my hands towards the ground before crashing into it, resulting in me doing a nice forward roll to lessen the blunt impact.

I got up quickly and, expecting some kind of attack, turned around in a hasty fashion, therefore facing my supposed attacker. But to my surprise there wasn't an enemy soldier or some devils sent abyssal in front of me. The being that crashed into me was a gorgeous woman, being rather tall, having long black hair, red eyes, wearing some kind of traditional clothing and a strange mast-like thing on hear head. _Ship Girl,_ I thought in succession.

The woman looked rather distressed, afraid that she hurt someone with her sudden appearance, but luckily for her, I was unharmed. But soon after I reckoned a wet spot on my shirt, investigating it I opened my jacket and looked at the mess. Besides the former emptied bottle of brandy, I also carried a small bottle of vodka in my jacket. I somehow managed to break that damned thing and now my fucking expensive leather jacket is torn apart.

I looked at the woman with a bit of anger in my eyes and she seemingly shuddered at the revelation that my jacket was damaged. Seeing that my gaze was unnerving her more than intended, I let loose and said to her: `` Geez, I am not asking why you just fucking ran into me or how you didn't see me, but the least you could do now is helping me with that container over there. ´´, I pointed at the container in front of my current stay.

My seemingly livid reaction was not becoming her good, she had a very nervous aura, but in the end the Ship Girls managed to utter some words: `` I-I am d-deeply sorry, sir. H-helping you out is the least I can do. ´´

Someone needs to tell her to relax a bit more around people, seriously this is not good for her. But at least this means that I am going to be finished sooner with this fucking mess over there. With a hand sign I waved her to follow me and took her to the container. While walking this few steps, I heard her mutter something like `` Why do I have to be so unlucky? ´´. Wonderful, now she only needs puppy eyes and I would adore her, but actually, if you could turn this into a weapon, it would be devastating on the battlefield.

I opened the container and took a step inside of it, looking how everything was arranged and devising a strategy for the most efficient way to get this stuff into the house. I know that I have a rather large storage room, since I made this a condition of mine for coming here, so storing the beer will not be problematic. The liquor won't be a problem, compare to the beer it only takes half as much space. Some of the salami will go into the fridge, but I also need like a permanent ten beers or so in the fridge.

I turned around to the Ship Girl, which was determinately awaiting my orders, looking like she was about take part in an attack and needed confirmation in her actions. Her stiffness at this time of the day, combined with not actually being on a mission, made me sigh. Afterwards I will give her a cold beer or so.

`` You see all of those crates of beer in the container? ´´ She nodded at the question.

`` Fine than move them into the storage room in my house, I will enter first and open the door to it and you will then carry them there. Understood? ´´

`` Yes, sir! ´´

I nodded in approval and took the first crate of beer into my hands, I walked towards the entrance and opened the door towards the bungalow with the correct key, while resting the crate against my upper leg. The key fitted perfectly, so after I turned it around in a quick motion, the door was primed to be opened. A follow-up hand swoop pushed down the lever of the door and the thing fell back in a circular motion. Since it was currently deep night, the first room to enter was expectedly dark and I spent ´quite some time finding the damned light switch. After I finally found that plastic thing, I switched on the juice and the entry room was lightened up. Nothing special, just a normal antechamber. Hooks here and there to store your jackets and a carboard for your shoes. I stumbled towards the next, the woman in already at my back, waiting for passage. The following door was quickly opened, but this quick pace was abruptly stopped, for I had to find another light switch. After this thing was finally turned on I was able to take a look at the living room slash kitchen. Remined me of an apartment in which I had the pleasure of living. First thing for me to notice was the rather larger kitchen, with the abnormally huge fridge. Good, I can easily store a whole crate in there.

The living room was also quite nice, spotting a large couch and a flat screen TV and also some quite nice furniture like lamps. Three doors remained, sleeping room, bath and the much asked for storage room. I placed the crate of beer unto the ground and checked every door, two of them were besides each other, bed and bath room expectedly. The third door was unmistakably leading to the storage room then, judging from the character of the house and the shape of wall behind the door, i guessed that it was actually underground. Confirming my guesswork, I opened the door and had again the pleasure with the constant fiddling that comes with the quest for the light switch. Hammering the thing this time out of annoyance, the juice came running into it and the light was turned on and a stair way laid in front of me. Cellar, just as guessed. The next thing in mind, thinking about the supposed size of the room, I walked down the stairs and soon found myself to much delight in a rather larger, but plain cellar. Just as wished for.

`` You can place the crates down here, I will deal with the rest from the container. ´´

`` Yes, sir! ´´, the girl yelled down from above.

I waited for her to get down here, so that I may climb the stair way, since there was still a ton of shit left in the container. After a few moments of patient waiting, the Ship Girl descended with a crate in her hands and I showed her with a motion as to where she could place the beer. Leaving her to her task, I climbed the stairs up and found myself again in the living room, focusing at the task at hand, I checked out the bed room to a much greater extent, finding a plain, but welcoming bed in the room. To the right of the bed was a pretty large cupboard, certainly enough space for my clothes. The window was to the left of the bed, an air conditioning droning over it.

I walked outside again and revised the living room. _Not enough space._ I made my final decision, the PC will be placed in the cellar than. Makes it cooler in the summer, so it was a hot contender in the first place. Having a task at hand it walked back, but made a stop in the kitchen, as I was remembered of the crate of beer that was still standing there. _Beer comes first._ Opening the fridge, I was greeted by the cold and misty feeling coming from inside and placed all of the bottles into it, two of them were placed in the accompanying freezer. While I was doing this, I could hear the Ship Girl heaving the next crate of beer down the stairs. Not paying it more attention, I walked out of the bungalow, heading for the container. Entering the metallic storage box the second time, I found my PC rather quickly, since I placed the thing as one of the last objects there, so that I could get it easily after opening the container. Taking the most precious thing from the container into my careful hands, I could feel the cold texture of the metal parts of the case. Carrying it with ease but also care, I walked into the bungalow, coming to face with the helping woman. She begged me to let her help, but I said that it was not as heavy as it looked and continued with my quest.

Taking a sharp turn the right, I found myself in front of the devious stairs, but after having dealt with more fierce adversaries, I walked it down bravely and in the end kept myself from crashing for the second time. Arriving in the cellar, I searched for the desired LAN outtake. Finding it besides the electrical outtakes just like expected. I placed my gaming rig in front of it and ascended the stairs again. Screen, key board and mouse, plus all the accessories are still up there, wasting no time, I found myself back at the container. Finding what I searched for with ease and crossing ways with the woman, I took the screen under my right arm, the bag with not only the cables, but also my headset, was wrapped around my head, so that I could carry keyboard and mouse in the left. Carefully making my way through the house, afraid of damaging the expensive screen, I made it back to the cellar, starting the complex task of connecting all of these. Finishing it quickly, since it isn't really complex for those who work with computers a bit more, next thing on the list is the salami and the liquor. Whisky being my favourite alcoholic beverage, I took the first few bottles from the container. Them being a Bowmore 15 YO Darkest, Glendronach 18 YO and a Lagavulin 16 YO, but with still many more having to follow suit. In the end, I had to walk this route for about ten times over and over, since I had about 30 bottles of the scotch nectar with me. But there was still a lot more, you could say.

The Ship Girl just finished her thirteenth round, but was still not finished with the beer. I also had to probably another ten laps ahead of me, while I loved Whisky with all of my heart, I still fancied other liquors like Gin, Vodka, Schnapps and Brandy. Wasting no time with thoughts about my addiction, I started all over with the mission. On my way back from the container I faced the dark-haired woman for the, I think 15th time, but this time she had some kind of concerned gaze on her face. Don't tell me she is worried about my consumption of alcoholic beverages. There is nothing to worry about, my liver is as resistant as a battleships hull armour! I paid it no mind and continued, soon coming to and end with the arduous task of walking the same way all the time. But I shan't talk about relaxation, there was still salami that had to be stored in the fridge and my clothes, which had to be stored in the cupboard.

Another object of my love came into view as I entered the now half empty container, that thing being the Hungarian salami. I also love the Milanese, but after a long time of thinking, I decided for the former. On the one hand Salami Milano is the best salami for Pizza, but I strongly doubt that I will be indulging myself with this Italian dish all the time. Hungarian Szalami on the other hand is just perfect for a small dish, combine with a slice of bread and I will be satisfied. Putting the food into the fridge I was still kept in the thoughts about food, since my fridge was pretty much lacking everything else. Shopping is going to be the first thing that I will after my well-deserved sleep, breakfast won't be a problem since frequently just leave it out and therefore have a bigger dinner.

Things went on as planned and I just finished storing all of my clothes, beauty products and some kitchen utensils. Just as I was done with this whole ordeal, the Ship Girl came to me: `` Sir, I have finished storing the crates. Again, I am deeply sorry for running into you. ´´ A deep blush accentuated the embarrassment she felt from the whole situation.

I felt like a goddam parent that just punished his child with cleaning up his room, but before this gets even more awkward, I'd rather just break the ice. So I put on a smile and said to her with a bright and up-beat tone: `` No problem, it was late at night and I should have been a bit attentive too, not enjoying a shot of brandy. ´´ Then I pointed to the refrigerator and added: `` Probably cost you more time than it will take me getting this fixed. I will get us something to drink, see it as a new beginning. ´´

She nodded at my offer and I walked over to the fridge, opening it and getting two bottles of beer out of the freezer. The coldness of the recently cooled bottles is being picked up by my senses upon touch, a small filament of water building itself up on the surface. Then I walked over to one of the kitchens cupboards and pulled out two glasses. Each of them being able to store about a bit more than half a litre, perfect for the standard size of beer bottles. Getting out my pocket-hold capsule popper and taking the first bottle into my hand I quickly opened it. The CO2 reacting with the 02, the fluid began to fizz and I slowly poured it into the first glass. Doing that is hard if it is our first time, but after a while you naturally find out how it works, or you just google it that's always an option. Holding the bottle and the glass relatively flat, ensures that you won't overfill the glass with the beer foam. After two thirds have been poured in, you flip both glass and bottle into an upward position, allowing the rest of the brew to turn into the well-known beer foam. Repeating the same process again with the other glass, carefully pouring it so that pretty much everything is done the correct way.

Having finished with both beers, I strolled over to the table where the Ship Girl was sitting. I placed the beer a few centimetres away from, giving the aroma the opportunity to fill up her nostrils, but not to cause a sensorial overload. The beer I selected is one of my all-time favourites, Franziskaner Bräu from Munich. This here is wheat beer, having a distinct difference in taste, being much sweeter than normal beer and having some kind of banana-like taste.

`` Here you go, a glass of Munich's finest beer. ´´

`` Thank you, Sir. ´´

`` Well, shall we break the ice? '', not really waiting for a response, I continued: `` My name for the time being here is Scipio, the new Admiral from Germany, who was sent here under premise of technological exchange. Nice to meet, ya! ´´

I stretched out a hand towards her, hoping for the woman to return the gesture, but I was rather dumbfounded by her reaction towards me. Not out of impoliteness or rudeness, it was rather the opposite. Immediately after hearing that I am the supposedly new Admiral, she jumped up and bowed in front of me. Her shuddering and cold sweat came along naturally at that time, leaving me a bit perplexed.

I sighed and shook my head. `` At ease, girl. You did nothing wrong, you couldn't have known that I am the new Admiral here and now stop with those formalities, go on and drink your beer. ´´

`` B-but Admiral, my i-impolitness can't go by unpunished! ´´, she exclaimed.

`` Ah, god. FYI, I don't care, we aren't in active duty right now. Ease yourself up, drink your beer and at least tell me your name. See it as an official order to relax if you need one. ´´, I returned.

After consoling her the second time she let go of a part of her stiffness and sat down again. Taking a sip from the beer, I think she tried to get some courage from it, but the sudden sweetness of the wheat beer seemingly surprised her.

`` I-I am Fusou, first ship of the Fusou-Class Battleship series. It is an honour to meet you, Admiral Scipio. ´´, she replied trying to be formal, while also hoping to have a bit of a chilled aura to her. But her tactic wasn't really working, supressing a trademark sigh, I tried to give her a bit of a reassuring response: `` Good, good. That's much better Fusou. I hope this isn't too personal for you, but what in the gods name did you do at 2 a.m. for you to literally run into me? ´´, I asked her with a smirk in my face.

For a question that literally came out of nowhere for her, but was at the same time to be expected, she behaved in a predictable way. A flush of red starting to be appear on her cheeks, a little shuddering and a gaze that slowly wandered away from me. I kind of knew that this will probably happen, but the girl need some serious conversation training and as the Admiral I need to take care of my personnel. So I found myself mildly surprised when she actually gave me a proper response instead of a bit of stammering and muttering.

`` W-well it is pretty embarrassing, but if my Admiral orders it, I can not refuse. ´´ I mentally face palmed at her statement, but let her continue. `` Today I was out on a patrol, so that a merchant fleet of vital convoys could pass safely to the harbour, but after we were about to finish the mission, a lone abyssal aircraft encountered as and well… ´´ She seemingly struggled for a bit, but soon after was able to give me the answer I was looking for: `` And then it dropped a bomb to create an aversion, so that it could flee. Unfortunately, it hit me on my mast and I was damaged lightly, not heavily enough so that it could be classified as heavy damage, but I still had to go to the repair docks. ´´

She paused again, something will be coming I guess, getting hit by a stray bomb isn't really embarrassing. I could really see her growing more and more anxious, the flush of red in her face growing darker, her hands fidgeting around and the teeth that bit on her lips. But with a determined resolve she continued the story and went on: `` Well, then I fell asleep in the repair docks and woke up just before! When I looked at the time I was shocked, for how long I slept, so I had to quickly return to the dorms. That is when I ran into you, Admiral. Ughhh, it is so emberrasing….. ´´

It took me some time to meld this information into my brain, this was it? I thought it was supposed to be really awkward. But this? It was nearing night time at that moment and she just slumbered a bit, wouldn't call that embarrassing. If she were at duty, it would be a different case, but the girl just fell asleep after she was hit nonetheless. Geez, she is really unsocial and shy, I guess then, but Rome wasn't built in one day, so I have enough time to get her to leave her shell. I won't try to deal with you if you just aren't interested in social interaction, but she is clearly being hindered by this behaviour. A cheeky answer is needed.

`` My god, that's nothing to be uncomfortable about! Can happen to everyone, Fusou, so don't kill yourself over it. It was late, you came back from your mission and I guess the repair docks must be really comfortable then. ´´

`` B-b-but Admiral, this act of laziness was undisciplined! And if I hadn't been so tardy, your expensive jacket wouldn't have been ruptured! Punish me, as you see fit! ´´, she got up again and bowed in front of me.

Mental sigh number two. `` At ease, sit down again and don't act like this. Yeah that you crashed into me and that my leather jacket was ripped isn't nice, but it wasn't your intention. You saved me a lot of time with the beer crates, so I am actually grateful to you. The jacket can be sewed together, so it is no problem Fusou. ´´

She wasn't really experienced with handling such a situation, you could really see it. She was probably trying to come up with some kind of task for her to do that will act as an apology. Well, if it does make her feel better, I won't deny it.

`` Then let me at least sew your jacket back together, Admiral! ´´, she exclaimed.

I was quite surprised, not from what she said, but from how she did it. Actually raising her voice from semi-quiet muttering to normal conversation volume, is quite something, I guess. Smirking back at her comment, I replied: `` Fine, take it with you when leaving. ´´

She nodded at my response, seeming a bit happy from it. With the conversation being at least some kind of success, I took a sip of my still untouched beer. The edge of the glass touching my lips, the cold fluid flew down into my mouth. A sweet aroma intensified upon touch, a hint of banana in the taste. Truly one of my favourites. Swallowing the first take from the glass, a gulping sound made its way from my throat, as the foamy liquid made its way down to my stomach. Fusou followed suit, also taking a sip, but a larger one then mine. Is she trying to impress me, or what? Trying hard won't get you anywhere with me.

But the large gulp was actually more then just one, the ship Girl just downed the whole thing while I wasn't really looking. Expectedly, I crowned my face with a surprised expression, but soon took on her behaviour head on, emptying the whole glass in one go. I put the glass back on the table and threw my gaze back at her, still a bit shy, but more opened up by now she returned it with her eyes. Seeing this development as positive, I said to her: `` Want another round, got enough beer here for nuclear winter. ´´

`` Yes Admiral! ´´, she returned quite sternly.

The answer causing me to smirk, I took her glass into my right hand and walked over to the fridge. Repeating the same course from about ten minutes ago, I filled up the two glasses again and headed back to the table. I took my seat and pushed the glass in my left hand over to her, the Ship Girl took the glass gleefully, so much that she enjoyed way too much on the first sip. I smirked at her action, taking a sip as well and thinking back to my own beginnings with drinking.

`` Fusou, pray tell, how much do you normally drink? ´´

She pondered a bit on the question, not being able to find a right answer for quite some time, she implied that she wasn't really experienced with alcoholic beverages. But sooner or later the answer came as she mentally reassured herself and replied: `` W-well, Admiral normally I don't drink, only on occasions like a birthday or so. ´´ She then looked at the beer in front of her and continued: `` I am not really a fan of beer, but this is something different, Admiral. I never expected this beverage to be so sweet. I am really fond of its taste, thank you very much for this opportunity, Admiral. ´´

Smirking back at her I said back: `` Don't sweat it, I am always happy to share a few beers. I am glad you like it, for it is one of my favourite. If you are in a mood for trying, I got some more different and interesting things stored here. ´´

`` Very well, Admiral if you so, I will follow suit. ´´, she answered with a serious, but somehow cute face.

Drawing a smile upon my face for the reaction, I gulped down another mouthful from the wheat beer. Taking some time to find a new topic for conversation, I fiddled around with my fingers, but Fuosu waited patiently until I said something. `` Since you told me something you considered embarrassing, I now have to uphold my codex of equal exchange and tell you an awkward story about myself. ´´

My words startled her again, she shook around her hands in a negating manner and added with an overstressing voice: `` B-but Admiral that is totally not needed, I-I mean I destroyed your jacket! You don't have to give me anything return. ´´ Her face never lost the flush of red, growing only stronger with the induced alcohol.

`` No no no, I need to do this, otherwise I won't be sleeping well. Just listen and laugh at it, I do it myself all the time. ´´

`` Admiral, I could never laugh at you. ´´, she returned with a stern face and strong-willed gaze.

 _That's new, I guess._

Still smirking, I summoned up the story from the depths of my mind, thinking back to easier times, times when there weren't any Abyssals and I went to a Grammar School. Yes, it is a story about being drunk on a school trip.

`` Back when I was seventeen or so, we went to the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. The city was very beautiful and there was some seriously astonishing architecture there, I reckon a bridge in my mind. But this isn't the part you should be normally laughing at. We stayed there in a pretty cheap hotel, shitty beds, toilets and equipment. But at least we had acceptable WIFI and the food wasn't as bad as the hotel. If you find yourself in this city and visit a local supermarket, you will find that the price of the beer and the other stuff was dirt cheap. We used this opportunity, since most of the cashiers weren't interested in our age, we bought a lot of cheap beer, liquor and food. After leaving the store, we smuggled everything back into the hotel and pretty much killed ourselves with the stuff. We have a phrase back in Germany, being _Sich die Kante geben_. You say that when you drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol for any kind of purpose. Well the thing was that after quite some time of partying, I somehow managed to throw my phone out of the window. Fortunately, we were just in the first storey and the floor beneath us was some kind of garden, so it fell into a bush. Well, in my drunken wisdom, I thought it would be a good idea to climb the whole route down from the balcony, thinking that I would be able to make far enough, so that I could fall down the rest. ´´ I chuckled at myself, reciting this story, but Fusou still listened intrigued. `` Well I somehow managed to follow through with the first half of the plan, but when I let myself fall, I landed in a pile of dog shit and slithered into a rose bush! I was bloodied, bruised and full of dog shit! Ahahahahaha! ´´

I laughed at my own stupidity, but when I looked at the ship girl I did not see her laughing, not even chuckling, but rather facing me with a gentle, somewhat pitying look. I couldn't believe my eyes, everyone whom I told that story at least chuckled a bit louder. Maybe she had no sense of humour, but I quickly discarded that idea. I switched my gaze back at her and found something, the first thing were the contractions at her cheeks, implying that she was trying to hide a, in her eyes, improper reaction. Then I also noticed how she just bit her self into the inner cheeks, now it was definitely clear to me, she was holding it back and the story was funny, for god's sake. But there was still the issue of the woman holding back her emotions. I needed to do something.

Standing up, I made myself go to her chair in a quick follow-up of steps, to be more precise behind her. Acting before she could react, I started to tickle her in the sides of her belly, making the whole situation of holding back the laughter impossible for her. Therefore she erupted into a true storm of laughter, the situation good only more severe as tear started to flow down from her eyes. But, being the relentless man I am, I continued on with my assault, quenching out every laugh and tear that is left in her. She needs to be more at ease, not just a bit, but a lot more. While discipline is a key factor in combat, the individual soldier who only acts when commanded, being completely unable to perform independent action, is only cannon fodder. I told the officers and soldiers under my command to be stoic, but also to be full of wit and cunning, to take actions on their own, if there is not opportunity to tell your commanding officer. Action in combat must be quick and decisive, trapping the enemy, before he can react. To achieve this, soldiers need to show bravery, discipline in combat and intelligence. _Sweat saves blood. Blood saves lives. Brain saves both._ The words of my idol Rommel sum this principle up pretty well.

After the mental justification of my acts, I slowly stopped the onslaught, moving my hands away from her body, so that she can regain her composure. I smiled at her with a wicked smirk, I probably overdid it, she was sweating like she ran a marathon, her head completely red from the non-stop laughter and there were still some tears on her cheeks. `` I will say this for the last time, loosen up girl! If you keep this on, you will just end up harming yourself with it. I'll tell you something, back in class 1-4 in grammar school I acted the same fucking way. Not laughing about funny things, having an edgy attitude therefore being something else, but not myself. After having spent a complete summer in thought about doing so, I accepted who I really was. No more hiding, no more masks to wear, I am going to be myself from now on and everyone who has a goddam problem with it can go to hell. ´´ I paused as I took a good look at hear. She was slowly getting back to being able to normally hold a conversation, but at the same listened carefully to me. Appreciating the development, I went on.

`` At first it was hard coping with it, people grew distant since I acted different towards them, some even stared to dislike me for acting in a certain way, but after some time I regained a long since lost happiness. I was happy to be just alive, happy to be who I am, happy for just existing. And this newly gained feeling is something that I still hold dearly today. It motivates me to fight on, drives me to new highs and helps me overcome hardships. And for you, I want the same thing. Don't lie to me, I can see how troubled you are, keeping up this attitude made you shy and submissive. ´´, looking at her face confirmed this statement, she looked downwards, her eyes casting a sad look into her face. A little more pushing and I had her. `` You hunger to be yourself, yearn for recognition and acceptance. You dream of being someone who people can look up to, someone who your friends and comrades can rely on. But what you are doing, will not help this. ´´ I stretched out my hand towards her and carried on. `` I will aid you in achieving these goals! You just have take this chance! ´´

Adding a smile to my short speech, the effective was critical. She looked up to me, tears forming in her eyes and her buddy shuddering, but she still took my hand. Upon contact I felt the hand of someone who was not sure what to do, but who was determined to do something. With a quick motion she was being lifted up to her feet, following up I gave her a hug, which she gratefully accepted. After a minute of embracing each other and her sobbing, I cancelled out the hug. The sobbing stopped, and her expression went from kicked puppy into determined opportunist. Appreciating her sudden change in demeanour, raised a thumb up and putting on a smirk, furthermore encouraging her.

I wanted to ad a witty comment, but the Ship Girl cut me off with a rather loud voice that had a lot of will behind it: `` Thank you, Admiral! ´´, she reformed her mien into a more joyful one and continued: `` What you just told me, it really touched my heart. Not only the things regarding me, but also what you said about yourself. Being able to talk so openly to someone without even really knowing them, a person like me, who lived her life mostly in seclusion, can only admire you. I look forward being a proud ship under your command, Admiral! ´´

`` I am happy to hear this, Fusou. Shall I get us something to celebrate your new-found determination? ´´

She nodded, implying that I was really time to get drunk. Sorry, I meant to celebrate things, of course. So I walked towards the cellar door, opened the white, wooden door and started my descend downwards to get the good liquor. After the first steps, being out of sight, I started to chuckle. _My plan was successful._ I immediately saw the problems with that Ship Girl, she was unable to make decisions on her own and lacked confidence in her actions. For her to be a competent member of my fleet, I need Fusou to change these antics. While short patrol missions won't be problematic, longer campaigns would be undoable if she breaks down under the pressure. Further actions must be taken, for now I have broken through the shell, but I shall spend these next day's improving what I created. I doubt that she has friends to do so, if Fusou had, these problems wouldn't have been so sever. For now I will keep up this friendly behaviour, also a bit of flirting, making her compliments will help her and bolster her confidence.

Spending most of my perception locked into thought, I nearly fell over a randomly placed crate of beer. But luckily for me, my sixth sense kicked in just right in time and I jumped over it, landing safely a meter away from that damned thing. _I will tidy up this mess tomorrow, can't blame her for not doing it perfectly. Did I say tomorrow? I mean today of course._ Finished with my nit-picking thinking, I found myself in front of a make-shift arrangement of Whisky. Picking the right thing for the right moment is normally really hard for me, sometimes I tend to spend more time choosing than enjoying. But since Fusou is a beginner, I can't overwhelm her with a strong and peaty Islay Whisky, the classic beginner Glenfiddich 12 YO would be better suited, but I couldn't fathom that I would be introducing a newbie to the best beverage in the world. Sighing I continued my process and after a not so long search I found an unopened bottle of Glenfarclas 15 YO. _A bit more mature, but the sherry is very enjoyable. The 46 percent might sting a beginner, but it is worth it._ I picked up the still packaged bottle and returned to my waiting guest. When I returned from the short ascendance of the stairs and fell into her sight, for the door to the cellar was still open, she threw a quick smile at me. I smirked back and proceeded towards the kitchen, opening yet another kitchen cupboard, so to pull out two noosing glasses.

The noosing glass is the only way to truly experience and cherish whisky, the tulip form of the glass having the perfect shape to lead the whisky's aromas into your nose, the elongated glass shaft perfect to not accidently heat up the beverage. Some would say that we connoisseurs are overexaggerating and petty perfectionists, but I say that they have either never tasted it this way or are just ignorant! Cutting of the connection to the imagined rant, I came back to the real world, back to drinking exclusive alcohol. With two glasses in my right hand and the whisky in the left, I returned to the kitchen table. I placed the glass in front of Fuosu, who was waiting patiently. After placing my glass, I impatiently opened the packing and pulled out a bottle, coloured in brown and evenly shaped. On the paper wrapping around the bottle, the scripture of Glanfarclas and an old picture of the distillery were printed onto. I moved my hands towards the top of the bottle, where the cork was waiting for me. To further give off an aura of elegance and to protect the cork from being unemotionally popped out during transport, a special sealing was applied to it. I placed the nail of my thumb under a certain position on the wrapping and pulled it off with a quick motion. After having get rid of the last defence, I popped out the cork. A faint smell of fruits like apple and pears filled the room, which both I with my experienced noose and Fusou with her enhanced sense recognized.

`` Apples and pears, am I right? ´´, I asked her with a confident smile.

`` You are right as always Admiral. ´´, she returned with a gleeful look in her face.

Having had the first sample of the superb taste, I went on with the real thing now. Pouring in the whisky carefully, another wave of aroma hit me, furthermore increasing my delight over this beverage. After having finished Fuosu's glass I continued with mine, repeating the same process all over again. But this was certainly not a chore that would become annoying after doing it repeatedly, no, whenever the delicious came into contact with air and the glass, a faint, but delightful smell entered my nostrils. But having a dram is even better, so I quickly finished filling up the glass to the official marking and pushed the cork back into the bottle. Finishing the process of putting the bottle back into the packing, I took a seat and wrapped my hand around the broadened base of the noosing glass.

`` Pick it up like me, you don't want to heat up the drink with your body warmth. ´´

She followed up, taking the glass at the intended end and waiting for further instructions.

`` From TV you might have seen people drinking whisky from a so-called tumbler, I mean the wide and short glass. But that is just there to look cool, a real whisky glass is closer to a wine glass. Being more elongated and having a tulip form. This is for the aromas to wander up to your noose and concentrate there, giving you a better result from the noosing process. The most important thing about a whisky and what certainly takes most of the practising is the noosing process. It is a bit of a bumpy road in the beginning but believe me it is worth it. ´´

I followed up with a demonstration and lifted the glass towards my noose, also tilting it into the perfect position. A wave of fresh sherry hit my nostrils, recognizing the smell immediately from my mind. It wasn't as overwhelming as a young Glendronach, but still packed a punch. The forte of this whisky lies in his maturity, which was old enough to give you more complex aroma, but still had a bit of fire in it. The 46 percent of alcohol were noticeable, but this is intended, as alcohol acts as a hauler for the scent and the palate.

The ship girl watched me carefully, studying my every move that I demonstrated so passionately and after a few moments of watching, she began on her own. Carefully leading the glass to its determined goal line and also tilting the glass with a faint motion, she began to inhale the whisky. The intense aroma of the fine 15-year-old beverage, aged in oak and sherry casks, exploded towards her nose. At first, I could see her pinch away, the 46 percent hitting her stronger than she expected, but after she grew accustomed to it, a smile began to from on her face. She liked it.

I felt contend about her reaction, for it is one of my favourite whiskies, but I wouldn't call it a beginner, since it had 46 percent of alcohol. A first, rejecting expression would be acceptable, but she took it braver than I took my first with so much alcohol. Well my first 46er was a young and peaty Islay whisky, comparing them to a soft and tender highlander is out of the realm of possibilities. Leaving her to her own experiences, I returned to my glass and sniffed again, letting the welcomed fragrance enter my nostrils and accepting its warm embrace. Passion is the one word many people have associated with me when whisky is concerned, but for a good reason that is, as I can talk hours about this subject. Comparing different regions, their trade mark differences and what a good whisky is made of. The processes of making whisky, its history, the founding stories of distilleries and how whisky became so popular, these things I can keep talking on for hours.

I returned back to my beverage, leaving my thoughts behind with the prospect of creating a power point presentation just for the purpose of introducing more people to this god-like drink. The strong scent of the trademark sherry was still there, carving its way into my mind, where it was linked to apples and pears. But just being contend with such a small feat is not my way, I seek for more. Putting more ferocity into the process, I rediscovered new fragrances. A hint of oak appeared, faint and fragile, then hints of orange came to my mind as the aromas opened themselves up more and more. Finally, cinnamon came into being, reminding me of Christmas eve before the Abyssals arrived.

Delight was what I felt, the feeling of something coming back to you, nostalgia was added to it. I concluded what I started, lifting the glass up more, the golden fluid rand down the wall of the noosing glass, right into my mouth. A known flavour, a well-versed palate spread through every part of my eating organ. I flushed into every creek in there, the taste of the drink entering every receptor in my mouth. And what was it that I tasted? A well-known sherry, similar to the noosing process, but slightly different, for the method of sampling was different. Then oak entered the fray, adding to the maturity of the dram. A quick swallowing and the taste of Christmas orange came into being, refining it even more. This composition of a true master of the malt found its end with the long-lasting aftertaste of oak coming into being.

Opening my eyes, I found Fusou evenly delighted, having liked her first experienced, I was happy too. Drinking a dram of whisky is grate, but doing so with a friend, tops all of it. As I was pleased with how the night came out in the end, I offered her another glass. The battleship gladfully replied positively and I carefully filled up her glass again, but not adding to mine, for I want to save this dram for the hours after my soon, but late awakening from the slumber I still had to take. Taking the not existent exhaustion from travelling into thought, I ought to sleep eight hours at least, meaning that if I got to bed at 3 a.m. I will be up and ready by half past 11 a.m. That is a good time, in my teenager years I tended to often just wake up at 12 a.m., having finished my morning business even later.

Wanting to free myself from any suspicion of false time measuring, I confirmed the local time. Half an hour, then I would appreciate the embrace of a blanket. After having spent most of bed time with mere six hours and often less in academy, I came to appreciate the eight hours of sleep that I could now spare as an admiral. But these thoughts are outlandish right now, on of my ships sits in front of me and I should be spending more time with than with my thoughts. So, I returned to what currently transpired and found myself with a pleases ship girl. She smiled at, I returned it. But it was currently late, I don't want to act impolite, but I need her to kindly leave. For everything that happened, I still need to take a refreshing shower and brush my teeth. And there also is that phone call, which still need to make.

I stood up from my seat and took both, her and my glass with me as I walked to the kitchen sink. I left the glasses there with the beer cups, which I placed there be forehandedly. I returned back to the table and said with an amused voice: `` This was a nice evening, I should rather say night, but sadly I think that both of us have a strenuous day coming towards them. ´´

The words being enough of a kind signal to leave, the ship girl slowly stood up from her seat, but to my surprise, fell immediately over. I rushed to her aid instantly, catching the falling girl with my hands. When I looked at her face, I found something that was to be expected, if she were a normal woman that would be, but I thought ship girls were more resistant to pretty much everything. _So, these models just have damage resistance, but not to intoxication. Maybe it is just alcohol, the creators wanting them to have parties like humans or so._

I sighed at the development, now after spending the last half an hour or so with her, having a fine time chatting and drinking, helping her with her personal problems, I end up with a drunken ship girl at my hands.

But she acted faster than expected and talked first: `` Huhuhu, A-admiral you *hicks* look very handsome….. ´´

`` You've got to be kidding me! ´´, I facepalmed at her words, not having the nerves to deal with this right now, I was keen on coming up with a quick response plan. Moving her to girl's dorms would be preferable, but I doubt this will be doable as easy as it sounds. She uncapable of walking in straight line and I have no clue or whatsoever where those damned dorms are supposed to be. Also as important is the fact that she was clearly hiding her drunkenness from me, speaking from experience, I know that alcohol needs some time before kicking in, with some it takes longer, others get hit in shorter times spans, but nobody gets wasted instantly. Probably thought that another glass wouldn't be so harmful, than the first drinks kicked in and she only prolonged the effect by downing another. At least this will have some life lessons on drinking for her.

`` Fusou, listen you are in a pretty bad shape right now and I would not only endanger your life, but also the lives of others, if I were to tell you to go home by yourself. So, I made the decisions for you to crash the night on my couch. ´´, I added as I told my quick, but hopefully solid plan.

For a reasonable person this plan would be acceptable, but drunks aren't really people to reason with, something I now just to good from my own experience. `` H-hhe A-aadmiral why cannd I sweep in your bed with youuu…´´, so she replied in a different way, a way I didn't really expect for her to reply with. I calculated different outcomes, taking in her current acting and normal personality, even expected her to barf onto my floor, but I was flabbergasted despite all of my mental bracings.

Facepalming a second time, I felt the light burn on my front, a shade of red coming to live on it, but I had to carry on and say something.

`` Uggh, I can't fool around with an employee on the first day, you are really taking things to far here. If I were to agree, you wouldn't be able too properly look into my eyes for the next days, putting future missions at risk and that is something I can not tolerate. Taking me up on my offer will be the best course of action for this night, believe me Fusou. ´´

At first with hesitation, but then steadier with every second she agreed with me and slowly nodded, not stressing her intoxicated body. Having her affirmation, I wrapped her tender arm around my shoulder and proceeded to hoist her up. With quick motion, a safe ascend was made and thanks to the help I gave her, she was somehow standing on her legs again, a bit shaky, but she was upright once more.

`` Fusou, now comes the hard part. Follow my footsteps, at least try it, if possible. Then we will have you over to the couch on no time at all. ´´, I did my best to encourage her, hoping that she could at least walk a few steps on her own.

Starting of with the first step, my right foot wandered about 30 centimetres towards the couch, with the second following instantly up. To my delight, the feet of the wasted battleship were catching up quickly and we were able to walk at a steady pace, but with the down-slowing effect of her intoxication, it was still quite distance, with the current circumstances, to cover. At every moment her stomach could rebel, leading to several types of damage, collateral and mental. But the show must go on, as they tend to say. The arduous journey went on, step after step we covered more and more of the journey, coming ever closer to the sought-for couch.

A few moments, steps our feet had to take and we would be there, meaning that I could do the things that I still had on my list, including an important phone call. _If she decides to throw up in these last seconds, I will be her R. Lee Ermey for the next weeks, hitting her full on with the full metal jacket._ Sadly for the god of misfortune, nothing of that sorts happened and we were able to safely make it to the couch. Proceeding with the task at hand, I removed my arm from her shoulder, only for it and its left counterpart to relocate to her waist region. I made sure not to tickle her, but she still giggled when I did so, probably for different reasons, but I had different things at hand. Fearing that this damned giggling would lead to a Friday-night hurling session, I acted with even more care. Ending up with a displeased Fuous, still in her drunken maze and hoping for sudden sexual intercourse and a happy Scipio, who was glad for not having to clean puke for the second time in this week.

Soon after, the ship girl was placed with utmost acre onto the couch, having her choose a comfortable position seconds before, but after she wanted told me, that the most enjoyable sleeping position for her would be besides me, I stopped the advance and let her make the decision on her own. While she made herself at home, I went to the bed room in order to get a blanket. Pillows were already placed there, while not being worthy to be called sleeping pillows, they were still incredibly soft and fluffy. I returned with the bedspread in my hand, anticipating some kind of stupid sentence being thrown at me, I entered the room, but found her sleeping to my surprise.

Being thankful for the way this whole ordeal ended, I smiled at the scenery, Fusou looked really cute while sleeping, the first morning after would be a different story then, I guess. But I shouldn't spend my time thinking about situations, which carry no weight in the worlds theatre, they are better dealt with spontaneously. I still one task ahead of me, before I could finally hit the bunks. A call had to be done, a very important one.

I left the kitchen, walked into the foyer, where I put on my military boots. I left my jacket, for it was just a fashion accessory and not really needed. When I opened the door, a cool autumn breeze hit my face, I thought about the date, at the moment it was the 21st of October, Halloween would be in a week, a good opportunity to waste yourself, but right now my thoughts were needed somewhere different. I had to look for a safe place to start the call, the call can't be detected, traced or hacked, we made sure of that. But someone could overhear it, which would cause a heap cataclysm to come for us.

My gaze made a full 360, locking onto an isolated ship yard crane. The figure of the crane was imposing, easily towering 40 metres over me. A perfect place. Having set my target, I sped on, leaving only dust behind me, but running with the graze of a gazelle, not making a sound. On my way, I passed a few buildings, one of them being some kind of restaurant, interesting, I will check it out later on, maybe even eat something there. I didn't plan on going to the cantina that was in the other direction, preferring to eat a meal in solitude or with good friends. While I could easily put on the act, doing so isn't to my liking. As I went on with my thoughts, my ocular receptors saw the construct of my desire coming closer and closer to me, meaning that I soon had to climb.

Having done a kilometre in a few seconds and being close to the crane, I used the build-up moment of the dash to catapult myself onto the crane, leaving only dust as a witness behind. Of course, I made sure that no one was watching me, having the best sensors in the world surely is something. Landing on top of the crane, the gravitational force cancelling out my acceleration, I made a safe, but most importantly silent descent. My feet touched the metal floor of the machine and I could feel the increasing intensity of the wind upon my synthetic skin.

Having reached the targeted location, I pulled out a phone, but not a modern smartphone, but a rather heavy looking one with keys instead of a touch screen. While it certainly didn't look more technically sophisticated than a modern smartphone, it definitely was. Having the most secure systems in the world packed into a phone is only in the realm of possibility, if it has a rather cumbersome form. The piece of electronic ingenuity had a diameter of 13 centimetres and a thickness of about 2. 52 centimetres, or an inch in retard units, lel. Putting the jokes aside, it had the precise look of three modern smartphones being glued together, but with keys. These took about two thirds of the surface area, not being overly large like the ones on the phones for old people, but since it had so many of them, the space is direly needed, they even were rather small.

Small intersection ran between them and broader ones with more depth separated the different sectors like numbers and letters. Still sporting the red and green colours for the phone buttons, the special phone had something comparable to a normal one. Also included was a headphone jack, which wasn't really one in fact, as it was a bit wider in diameter than a normal 3.5. In fact, it was an adapter to the phone that covered itself as a headphone jack. With the fitting adapter, data could be easily transferred, but it also served as hardware for the included hacking software.

Finishing the review, I tipped in the numbers 198-7-518 and pushed the greenish phone button. A short ringing tone occurred, only for me to be transferred to a waiting line. On the other end of it, a member of our group who had the right organisation level and was currently at hand would pick it up. Waiting patiently, a few moments passed by, the theme of a German military song playing on the phone, slightly distracting me from the arduous process that I was currently partaking in. Then a peep of someone picking up the call was being perceived by my synthetic ear drums, signalling that I could finally fill in my report.

`` Ob's stürmt oder schneit….. ´´, a familiar voice sung into the speaker. Knowing what to answer, I replied: `` Ob die Sonne uns lacht! ´´

Having accepted the right line of the familiar song, the man on the other end of the line said: `` Having a good time over there, Hermann? ´´

The familiar voice belonging to the earlier mentioned Gregor Schröder, a friend and fellow member of your conspiring group named Gespensterdivision, after the legendary 7th tank division of Erwin Rommel.

`` Well, it could be better, but compared to the welcoming party the abyssals threw for me at Jutland, this is rather relaxing. I met a ship girl that seems to be part of the fleet that I will be commanding these next months. You see I invited her to beer and whisky, but since she had the resistance of a paper wall, you can certainly imagine what happened next, my friend. ´´

`` Got drunk, showed signs of vomiting and now she is sleeping on your couch. Am I right? ´´

`` After having had to deal with those situations billions of time, we both know what to expect from people that get into it for the first time. ´´, a smile appeared on my face as I remembered the shit I did back then. `` But I should have known better. Just because they are ship girls they won't automatically be as resistant to booze as us veterans. ´´

`` Since you mentioned ship girls, Hermann. Our initial tests were a success and we now fully comprehend the technology the have sent us. ´´, the German scientist replied.

`` Pray tell then, I am all yours. ´´

`` It sounds a lot easier said then done, the process in itself being a bit more akin to magic than to science, I have to admit that even I don't really understand every process, some of our quantum physicians would be better suited for the job. ´´, Gregor replied a bit embarrassed.

`` If I wanted the full report I would have asked for the documents. There is no problem with not having the gist of it in your case, as you have to deal with a ton more shit than just the _Flottenmädchen_ project, Gregor. ´´, I said back reassuringly.

`` Ja eh, you are right Hermann, but with the pressure that is being put on us right now, it feels like that I have to live up to every expectation there is. ´´, he hastily said: `` Coming back to the real issue here, boiled down the process sounds rather simple. Choosing the ship you want to reincarnate, we chose Bismarck for this procedure. Afterwards you need to feed a computer with information about the ship, the next steps will be taken into creating some sort of personality, similar to our _Künstlicher Mensch_ A.I. program. Following up are many test runs with the created persona, subconsciously stimulating it and pitting it in stressful situations. If everything works out in a good way, we can begin the actual construction. The materials they are being build of are similar to yours, but since they are more or less directed to mass production, their rig is lower than yours, so don't feel like that you will be replaced by a new generation. ´´, he laughed at the last sentence, a comedic action which I quickly joined.

`` I think it is a bit too early for me to retire, I don't want to look like an anti-social pest, feeding of a non-existent social system. ´´

`` I doubt that you ever will Hermann, that would be really shameful of you. Reminds me of the stuck-up brats at college, thinking everything will be handed towards them, because they never had to really work for something. And when the prospect of having to work in a shitty job comes closer because the took a gender studies course, they scream out for a communist revolution. ´´, added Gregor with a hint of anger in his voice.

`` I do not envy you for having to deal with such a situation. Had a few SJWs at my school back then, just a bunch of posers with no opinion behind their words. But after life got increasingly harder for everyone, they suddenly vanished from the scenery, showing that this movement was just a farce. ´´

`` The only good thing about the Abyssals then, I guess. ´´ Both of us shared a giggle about the statement. But Gregor soon continued: `` Talking about good things, the naval rearmament program has been finished. ´´

`` With every second of this phone call, I get livelier and happier. ´´

`` That you can say! Do you know what that means? I bet you do, but I will just ask to be sure! ´´, an over eagerly voice replies.

Already knowing the answer, I replied: `` My own fleet. When will it arrive here? I think we already have made a deal with the Russians for a transfer using the northern route, have we? ´´

`` Correct in any way Hermann. Not only have we made advances with them diplomatically, but since we build the Ladoga canal in a joint project, we can now shorten the traveling distance immensely, sparring us the way around Scandinavia and further abyssal harassment. ´´

`` Then tell me, when will it arrive? The naval personnel here will be surely flabbergasted when grasping our imposing advances in maritime prowess. ´´

`` I estimate the journey to take about one week or so, we still have to do some life demonstrations before we can let it head out. ´´, he responded to my question.

`` Has anything changed with my fleet composition or will I still get the full package? ´´, I inquired further on.

`` Full version it is, nothing short of absolute firepower. One supercarrier, two missile cruisers and many escort ships. I have already seen the carrier in action and let me tell you, this thing rocks! Buying the carrier that the US Navy had stationed in on of our ports after the fall was a good decision, money and engineering time was well spent. ´´

Most of us knew of that purchase, it was made very suddenly, being a more opportunistic approach to things. While the Abyssals were surely a pest to deal with, precise missile and air strikes could very well harm the, as many air raids and my actions in Jutland showed. Therefore the German Navy had to reform itself extensively, changing from coast protection to offensive doctrine. Besides the purchase of a super carrier we also made a deal with the Russian Federation in consideration with naval matters. In exchange for hardware and a manual labour force the gave us blueprints for the Kirov class missile cruiser. We took those plans, studied them and developed our own vessel, the Preussen class. Frigates and destroyers were also constructed on mass, as capital ships need proper escorting. For this sake 30 brand new frigates had been constructed, mostly being a modernised version of the Sachsen class. Since the German navy completely lacked destroyers, the development department had to begin from scratch in creating a new platform. While there were old blueprints still available, those models were completely outdated and therefore many advancements had to be made in this area. After three years of careful development and testing, a new destroyer with the class name Pommern was released. Being modelled as a next generation ship, it included only the most modern equipment. A special Radar was also created during this time, primarily for the Pommern class, but other escort ships will soon follow suit.

The new carriers we had constructed were dedicated to the legendary Prussian militarist Moltke the older, therefore bearing his name as Moltke class. We modelled them after the image of the Nimitz carriers and while they looked similar on the outside, we made many changes to the inside. The nuclear generator for the Moltke class was a completely new model, rivalling the one in the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier. Instead of the standard issue steam catapult, a linear electro magnetic catapult had been installed. It not only had a greater output, but the strain that was projected onto the frame of the aircraft is reduced, due to the smoother acceleration. Living quarters were also improved, meaning that these carriers are slightly longer than the Nimitz class. The former American supercarrier had a length of 332 metres with a displacement of 97.000 tons, the Moltke class meanwhile was 360 metres long and had a displacement of 100.000 tons. It would have been a lot more if not for the magical material that carbon fibre is. Beneath the flight deck is the hangar for the planes, including the flight deck it was possible to carry about 80 planes. Concerning the planes, the Euro fighter platform was reconstructed for naval usage.

Returning from the prolonged and thoughtful explanation, I returned to the conversation to clarify the amount of ships: `` So that means 15 frigates, 8 brand new destroyers, a Preussen class missile cruiser and the Moltke class aircraft carrier. ´´ I paused shortly, but soon returned: `` Have my capital ships already been named or is it still for debate ´´

Gregor laughed shortly, then complied my question: `` Well it was quite a hassle naming them, hundreds of prolonged discussions with many ideas, but too many participants. While the first ships of their classes respectively got their classification as name, we had a lot of argument with the tow later ones that were to come. But in the end, we managed to come to a good solution. Hindenburg for the aircraft carrier and Barbarossa for the missile cruiser, I think we made a good choice. ´´

`` A legendary war hero and an emperor, well-chosen indeed. That means I will be commanding Hindenburg and Barbarossa, I am definitely looking forward to this. I remember back in the days, when I played Hearts of Iron 4, I have always been looking forward to every fleet that would be under my command. Now, now I will not be able to command my own battle fleet with massive capital ships, but also a quick fleet of ship girls. Fate is truly fickle, at one moment you stand knee deep in blood, while at the other you can be filled with bliss to no end. ´´, I replied to the naming of the two ships with a smirk.

After I uttered my words, a relatively loud yawn was being made by the man on the other end of the line. I reckoned that he had never went to sleep in the first place, so after I got my information, I said: `` Boy, oh boy. Seems like sleeping is not something being a primary target of yours. ´´

`` Ahhhhh, you are damn right! 48 hours, no sleep only caffeine! Instead of drinking coffee, we take small amounts of caffeine and mix them up with a glass of water. Gets the kick faster and better than from the normal route. Hmmph, one guy even injected the stuff into his veins when he was about to start the process of coding. ´´

`` Sounds more like addiction to me, but that's coming from the guy who drinks as much alcohol in one week as a normal person drinks in half a year. ´´, I replied adding a lough to the conversation, putting up the act of me not having a problem. Well, for me the problem is not really severe, since a cyborg can't really get harmed from it and the drunken haze is only a simulation, but a really good one. Praise where praise is deserved. Drifting back into matters at hands, I concluded that I had to insist on Gregor hitting the bunks, for sleep deprivation will eventually kick your bucket, leading to total failure.

`` Gregor, while short absence from sleep is not that harmful, doing it on the long run will fuck you up severely. I am speaking from personal experiences here, back in schoolin' I got two to three hours of sleep per day after the new Monster Hunter was released. Coffee, gaming and no effort in school was the outcome, putting me out of commission for a few days. ´´

`` Man, I know what you're talking about, seriously. And yes, I know the effects, as I have personally made acquaintance with them, wasn't a fun week, believe me. But the current situation calls for those longer shifts, especially with the new ship girl technology, but also with the studies on abysalls that we have to do right now. Writhing those damned reports for Gespensterdivision is not entertaining at all, like writing a shitty fanfiction for example. ´´, he scowled, ending the last sentence with a sigh. `` Hermann, I think that I am close to torpedoing the shit out of the fragile transport ship that is my current mind. Breakdown incoming soon. Afterwards I will get some booze. ´´

I only know his situation to good, to much shit being thrown at you from all sites, without any regard from any of the attackers, ignoring the rules of war. `` Gregor believe me, I am not unfamiliar with what you are going through right now. The first weeks in the division were an absolute nightmare, fitting in, overcoming the burdens of and trying to revaluate yourself, not only while doing life threatening missions, but also officers academy at the same time. I'll tell ya, making up the excuses for absence were often the hardest things. ´´, I answered his plea for comfort. `` But you have to pull through it. I know you very well, having fought off undebatable and entitled social justice worriers at university, stress must be not something new to you. Hear my words, you will pull through like always! ´´

I heard a quiet, laughing voice, indicating that Gregor took my words of pity well. He then responded: `` Danke, Hermann. You really are a good friend and comrade. But I sadly think that I have to call quits now, some guy just messaged me on Email that they needed another report. And since HQ is calling, I can't put it off. ´´

`` No problem, friend. Another thing I must add, if you are interested there is still some high-quality Grappa in my cupboard, take it if you want. ´´, I added with a grin.

`` You just made my day, you know that? ´´

`` Yes and you made mine, I am hyped for the fleet. ´´

`` Then let me continue to make it even better, Ragnarök is coming. ´´

A flabbergasted look was being portrayed onto my face, eyes widening, the jaw dropping and a slinet _ahhh_ sound escaping my mouth. `` You are kidding me, aren't you? ´´

`` Nope! ´´

 _Yes! Finally, my baby is coming towards me._ The hype reaching new heights, I reformed my gasping expression into a shit eating grin. Ragnarök is coming, not the end of the world in a direct sense, but surely for our enemies. While I officially was a cyborg super soldier in our organization, I was also very well rooted into the R&D department and held influential connections there. Gregor being one of them for example. As I always want to reach for new stars, I sought out the combat and weapons department there and came up with an idea. Creating a combat suit for me. It would amp my battlefield prowess immensely. I wouldn't just be faster and stronger, no, I would get some overpowered sci-fi abilities. Proposing the project with the arguments that this suit would be perfectly suited for defending our interests against the forces of the abyss, the rest of the ruling committee quickly agreed. The development began one year before I left for japan, creation a few months ago and now I will soon receive it. I personally thought that it would take longer, but the boys back at base shouldn't be underestimated when it is about doing something very quick, but also keeping up in the quality sector.

`` When? ´´, I simply inquired.

`` Final testing needs to be done, it will come with the fleet. Should I wrap it for you? ´´

`` You better do, just donated some quality liquor. ´´, I replied laughing.

`` Fine then, but now I really have to go. Tschüss! ´´

`` Have your fun then with the writing, Tschau! ´´

I pressed the red button that was beside the one with which you would normally accept calls, ignoring my incompetence of not knowing the right term for this button, I redirected my gaze at the night sky, taking in its beauty. Staring at the ceiling of stars has always been a hobby of mine, not with a telescope or so, no just gazing at it for some time. It always gives me something to live off, to see that there are now boundaries for growth and evolution. I want to actually visit one, not in a 3d simulation or virtual reality program, I long for taking a space ship, leaving this world behind me and fly towards a massive, favourably blue star. But as it currently is, this notion of my mind is out of reach. For now. Who knows what the future will bring, only time will tell. Leaving the astronomical dreams behind, I returned to planet earth and my current situation. While my main mission is really to act here as an admiral, I also have the side quest of collecting information on the ship girls for my organization. But for now this task is not the of utmost importance, I need a structured web of information sources and good connections at first, which the girls will surely give me. After waking from my soon to be slumber, I will scramble up my fleet and have a meeting with them, for I need to get a good picture of them, excluding Fusou, since I already made her acquaintance and now she is sleeping on my couch. Wonderful. I can read the newspapers saying: _Naughty Admiral takes advantage of obedient ship girls._

Reality taking up more and more of my view, I realised that for all of these to actually happen, I need to climb down this fucking crane and get to bed. I can skip showering and tooth brushing, for a cyborg doesn't need those things, but still normally do them, keeping up my pre-war routine. `` Old habits die hard.´´, I muttered to myself.

Looking at the task at hand, I kept these thoughts in the back of my mind and walked over to the metal ladder that was in front of me, directly besides the driver's cabin. Slowly walking over, as I didn't find a reason to hurry this process, I gradually made process on covering the distance, but sooner or later, I arrived at the metal structure, which would guarantee my safe, but more importantly silent descent. I could always jump down, but that would only create a commotion. And loud noises that will certainly draw attention are not something that I long for, keeping this whole ordeal on the crane a secret is number one priority right now. Backing up those words with action, I moved towards the ladder, turned quickly around, my back facing the circular metal cage behind me and made my first steps. While doing so, my hands grabbed the rusty metal that was the keeping all the ladder pieces together firmly, the cool autumn air making the good conductor that metal is very cool, but not so cold that it would someone who was climbing down it. As a cyborg weather and temperature in all of their forms aren't a problem to concern myself with, as I can always cool down or heat myself up with relative ease. The distance to cover was actually very long, but even a normal human wouldn't have a problem covering it, if were to be in his prime state, but I reckon that after a long day of work, one could be overtaken here with tiredness and fall down, but exactly to prevent such accidents, there was a metal railing to my side, where one could hook in a carbine. He would need to take it out of the different interactions and hang it into the next one, but better safe then sorry. I began my descend, slowly climbing down the ladder, inching closer to the ground with every step that I made. After a few moments of monotone climbing, I was halfway through, the process being sped up the lack of security gear. My grip was firm, far firmer than a normal human can hop to achieve, the tests we did back at the headquarters showed that with the new upgrade of my robotic body, I could now even crush steel if I wanted to. And with the Ragnarök suit I would easily top this achievement, its strength would be incomparable to anything the Abyssals have shown us. Leaving the 20-metre check point behind me, I continued with my safe, silent and swift descendance. The ground coming closer with every made motion and before the monotony of this chore could get me mad, I finally reached it. To be honest I let myself fall down the last two metres as it wouldn't really make much noise.

Landing on the floor, not even flinching or budging from the impact, I inspected the area around me. I made scans beforehand and found no anomalies, but one cannot be overcautiously in such situations. If a ship girl were to discover me, I would have to knock her out and hide the girl in my cellar. Not to pull a Josef Fritzl on her, but to hack her operating system and erase her memories. Then I would proceed with putting her in an alley and cover her up with booze. That would be a hassle, one I would be glad to not do, especially since I need to waste some good spirit to make it look like she wasted herself. But I felt relatively safe, for my sensors should easily be able to spot them kilometres away. I should've had them activated from the beginning, then the now drunken battleship wouldn't have crashed into me, but sadly I can't change the past, so it is not so damn important. Leaving the faults of earlier actions behind me, I redirected my focus to the present and the ways ahead of me. The kilometre of distance that I would need to cover to reach my house would done again in the silent run mode.

I looked around to set my paranoid tendencies at ease, but instead of ensuring mental peace, I ended up with confusion. Standing here at a naval base, highly specialised with a new super weapon and in newly renovated, but there were no guards walking around. Before I went to the crane to call my friend, I expected that I would need to sneak around like in a stealth shooter, but I found myself mildly surprised with the lack of threats. Maybe I am the only one here in this area and there is nothing to guard here, thinking back there was a checkpoint that I saw before I entered this section of the base, but still, the enemy could easily use this as a landing point for infiltrations. Hmmm, could it be? I spiked up my senses, not increasing the scan area, but rather the intensity of the searching process. Then everything became clear to me, my bungalow wasn't placed in some kind of unused junk yard, but at the barrack section. Not for the soldiers, there would still be guards lurking around, but for the ship girls. If something would dare to attack here, they would be facing something different than a normal sentry unit. I also identified some hidden radar units, HQ would immediately send them a signal and if they are similar to me, then they could quickly get up on short notice and be deployed in quick succession. If I were the commander here, I would still order some of them to patrol thou.

Without a warning something popped up upon my scanner, I came closer with a fast speed, comparable to someone running for their life. It came from the direction of my house. I scanned again, this time for further information about the subject. Gaining the intel, I found out that it was no human, but also not an Abyssal, meaning that it could only be a ship girl. But what would she be doing at this time? Did she saw me on the crane and now wants to confront me? I took the worst option as a base for further action and went into combat mode.

 **Activating Combat Operating System**

 **0%...50%...Complete**

 **Starting 360° view**

 **Deploying electro-magnetic sensor field**

 **Hyper Threading activated**

I drew my trusted combat knife and face the charging girl, ready for a potential fight. The knife was specially crafted for my needs, made out of an alloy that includes titanium and tungsten, furthermore strengthened with carbon fibre and directly linked to my body, so that I could apply static energy to it, if needed. In preceding battles it has proved to be an invaluable item, as this knife was easily capable of piercing abyssal body armour, that was impervious to normal rifle rounds. Even the rounds had a hard time passing by and most of the time just ricochet of, instead of piercing. But this knife proofed itself in past battles, as some of my tasks considered of infiltrating bases in close vicinity. After the second battle of Jutland, I was deployed to clear the enemy naval base on the island of Helgoland, where it saw a lot of use. Killing the enemy from stealth positions became the standard procedure. While I could fight one in a normal hand to hand battle, it would be more complicated, if tens of them would surround me. So I kept up with this standard procedure and hid behind some convenient crates that were standing besides me.

The signature came closer with every inch, my sensors flaring up with the incoming signature, I prepared myself for the, hopefully not, incoming threat. Five hundred meters, that was the distance my sensors told me that the enemy was away from my location. While these numbers just meant that she was a certain distance away from me, there was certain tactical value to this gap. There were two options for me to take, the first one would be a direct confrontation, jumping out from the cover when she is about to pass my location. The second one would be to continue the hiding and attack her from behind. Option number two sounds better at the first glance, but if she is already aware of my position, then she could expect me to pull off something like this and trap me. Taking option one seems to be the better way here, I have no doubts that I will be able to defeat one ship girl in a fair fight, for I managed to do the same with different Abyssals.

I rushed out from cover, facing the empty space that was in front of me. The sea was to my left side, meaning that I could always make a quick escape if needed, in a normal battle of course. But the ship girl would be far deadlier on water than on land. I could theoretically dive down and hide underwater, since I don't need to breath and my inner fusion reactor can use the hydrogenium from the water to create energy. Flaring my vision with an increased energy output to life, I got a closer look on the incoming girl. She was relatively young, looking like sixteen or seventeen. She wore a orangish dress that was accentuated with the use of the usage of white fabric being put atop of the orange fabric at the ends of the wear, being arms and the opening at the neck respectively. These white parts were modified with black straps being put onto them. Moving down to the mid-section, one could see that her dress made a drastic change from the formality that it hade before and split up in a flower like shape, which partly covered the black and simple skirt that she wore underneath it. Both arms were being covered by long, black gloves and there was a kind of black tie around her neck, which belonged to the main dress. Moving from accessories to the head, I saw here carrying mid length hair, with twin tails on both sides of the head. Finishing the picture of the girl were two brown and lively eyes.

Summarizing from her looks, I now doubt that she saw me, since her running attitude is to carefree. Her expression is one of joy and not the one you carry when you want to confront someone. This lead me to believe that she was coming back from some kind of activity, but she was certainly not out to attack me. But I still remained here with caution, the knife being hold in my trousers and since I placed it close to my back, she wouldn't be able to see it and I would have and advantage in battle. She covered the remaining distance quickly and halted in front of me like some kind of speed bump was placed in opposition to her. Better than being rammed down, I guess. She looked carefully at me, taking in my features that were being presented to her. At the time I was simply clothed in one of my black t-shirts and wore a pair of jeans, so nothing special.

To my surprise she put on a smirk and said to me: `` What do we have here? A foreigner wandering around so late at night, looks suspicious to me. Are you trying to attack some of the girls while sleeping or are you just a normal voyeur? ´´

I quickly saw through her act, she was just trying have some fun and being offered a chance to partake in this game, I joined: `` I need your clothes, your boots and your motor cycle. ´´ I uttered the words with the most monotone voice I could muster and hoped that she actually saw Terminator, otherwise this scene would be awkward not just since I already wore clothes, but also because I would be asking a girl. I shortly imagined me wearing this outfit and mentally frowned at it.

But as it seemed, she knew the quote very well and chuckled a bit, then went on: `` So you must be the new admiral here. My name is Sendai, name ship of the Sandai-class light cruiser family. ´´

`` I am Scipio and as you guessed I am not the Terminator. I am intrigued by your appearance here, I thought everyone was already sleeping. Would you mind enlightening me? ´´, I asked her with a curious gaze.

Her smirk grew wider and she replied with a haughty voice: `` Doing the best thing in the world of naval combat. Night battles, of course! Just came back from beating up some weak abyssal patrol ships! ´´

`` So you're a specialist, focusing on night battles. Did you complete this task alone or were you accompanied by allies? ´´

`` All alone this time, Admiral. The enemy was just a bunch of snotty patrol ships, no further assistance was needed, for I am strong enough to deal with them on my own. And as you can see I got now scratches on me. ´´, she proudly boasted. `` While I certainly love to fight with my sisters, the sadly don't see the grace of the night. Admiral, you surely know what I mean, do you? ´´

Her sudden questions, threw me back into memories and I was reminded of my first night time mission. It was supposed to be an easy one, get into the facility, secure the data and piss off. But misfortune struck me, the data was being held in some kind of laboratory and in this room an abyssal was currently being constructed. I got the hint on this too late and I ended up fighting a freshly made one in the successive battle. Fresh from the factory and probably being some new kind of species, she was pretty strong, but lacked experience. In the end she fell prey to my trusted sword and I chopped of her head. Not wanting to waste to much time in my thoughts, I returned to the topic of the conversation. Indeed, I like the night time, especially once the time went past the 24-hour mark. At this time, nobody expects things from you, meaning that you can have your peace from the daily hassles. Also, the night sky looked fantastic, if no clouds obstructed the view.

`` Positive, me walking around here shows my affection for it. At night things can be so silent and graceful, but it also means that some predators come out from hiding and ready themselves for attacks. Fighting in the night means that you have to quickly seize chances and opportunities, meaning that a huge amount of stress is being put onto your back. The adrenaline kicks in and you begin to feel alive, truly an experience to not forget quickly. ´´

Sendai literally jumped three metres into the air and was about to yell something out, but was reminded that everyone else was sleeping already, so she controlled herself and talked to me in a more normal voice: `` Finally, someone knows what I mean by it! Everything you just said, these aspects make the battle at night so much more interesting than a normal one. The thrill from not knowing were your enemy could be keeps you primed and the look in their eyes when you surprise them is just magnificent. ´´

When I was at her age, night time activities were either drinking or gaming, the latter being the case most of the time, but often accompanied by the former. But I have regressed from this behaviour, but not since I lack the motivation and capabilities, I can pull an all-nighter after another in this current state. The reason for stopping is the lack of time that I currently have or had, depending on how much work I have here. Back in Germany, when I was not doing missions, I was either in the R&D department, helping the developers with combat feed back and my own ideas for new weapons, or spent my time doing the job of being an Admiral. Since there were still missions to do, I sometimes had to postpone certain duties, which I then had to obviously do in over time. All in all, this meant that I only had limited free time and since I am fond of drinking, free time was mostly spent in a bar with my friends. But if I managed to get a day or two, free from work and missions, I would spend them playing video games all day long. People were often wondering, if I actually sleep, since I was seen all day out and doing something. And while I don't really need to have a good slumber, I am still fond of it, since I can get rid of the weight upon my shoulders, even if it is just for some hours.

I was ripped from thought by Sendai as she said: `` It was nice meeting, a fellow being that is fond of night battles and knows of their beauty. But I need to stop the chit chat now and return to the dorm, otherwise my sisters will complain about me not getting enough sleep n'shit. ´´ She picked up her speed from before and darted away from my position but added with a wide grin: `` Bye, Admiral! Next time, we can have a night battle together! ´´

I turned around and waved her goodbye, then the weight of her last words hit me square into the face and I realized what she meant by it. `` Dafuq, this is the second time now today. Night battle? They are getting more creative every time. ´´

I made my standard sigh and continued muttering: `` Well, in school I saw even more stupid advances then the one she just made. Taking her up on the offer, can't probably bring it, being the new one here. If something like this were to leak, I would probably be in trouble and all the other ship girls would not look at me with a straight face. In Fusou's case it is even worse, since she is drunken, and one portray it in a wrong way. Even if nothing comes out in the end, the lack of cohesion woman like Fusou would have afterwards would be harmful to combat performance and not good for relations in particular. ´´

Finishing the uneventful walk to my new home, I spent my time mostly thinking of every day things. The issue of my next meal was the one, which I wrestled most with, as I couldn't seem to make a final decision about the meal I would be eating. Food probably being something, in that I tended to be on the more indecisive side compared to military decisions, I often wasted more time then needed when I concerned myself with the question of eating. Would it be something light? Something fatty? Or would I just go to a restaurant? Even ordering pizza is an option, as I found out earlier that there actually is a pizza service in this base. But even after I would have eventually made a choice, there was still another thing on which to decide upon, said entity being of relativistic tendencies and often being ignored when it comes to meetings. The time as to when I would consume my soon to be supper, is often a fickle thing to resolve on. Back in Germany, I went along for dinner with friends at a certain time or just firmly held on to a date on which I formerly settled on. But when I had free time on my hands and I spent a day's worth of time playing video games, eating became something akin to a nuisance, so I kept it in the back of my mind. This cycle of reliance on set dates and friends, but also the total neglection during gaming sessions, made me forget my inconsistency that I had with food in general. I like cooking, but when being presented with too many choices, I tend to overthink it, just like a kid in a toy store with 100 bucks at its disposal.

So, in order to nail things down and finally get it over with, I took out a one-euro piece from my blue jeans. After the dissolution of the European Euro, the New German Empire still used the Euro as a standard currency and refrained from changing back to the Deutsche Mark. Reasons for doing so were the problematics a change of currency would bring in such times of peril and the easier process of trading with other ex-EU states that also retained the Euro. So, I decided on coin tossing as a method for resolution. If it would land on its head, eating outwards would be my choice and tails meant that I would be cooking something after going shopping. I looked at the coin, head was being represented by the sign on the back of the coin, showing a picture of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, meaning that it was from Austria. On the other side, a picture of the former European Union was etched out from the coin and a _1_ showed that it was worth exactly 1€. Back in my teenager years, one could be a beer or two with this amount of money. Or half a litre of coke, if you weren't interested in the famed alcoholic beverage. Energy drinks were also being favoured among us, but they couldn't keep up to the feeling of gulping down a cold beer, after having to deal with annoying teachers that keep on nagging during hot summer days. Seriously, I harboured murderous intentions for some of them.

Keeping further chit-chat away from the focus, I tossed the coin into the air. The metal object was being accelerated by my thumb, which was pressed under the index finger. With a quick motion, the potential Kinetic Energy was being released and catapulted the coin with a strongly restrained F=m*a into the air. It reached a height of roughly 30 centimetres above my right hand, before loosing momentum and being overtaken by the forces of gravity. The influence of 9.81 m/s² was quite strong and the coin raced down into the open palm of my right hand, where I caught it perfectly, closing the palm and slamming it onto the back of my left hand. Letting go of it, the coin was unveiled on my left hands back and the portray of a certain musician from Salzburg stared me reactionless into the eyes.

`` Aye, eating outwards it is then. Hope they have some good food there. ´´

While I underwent the process of playing around with a coin, making a choice for a relatively unimportant thing, I continued to undertake the process of walking to my bungalow. With the results at hand, I found myself only being a few hundred metres away from it and the angle from which light was being reflected from it, allowed me to again take in its structure. Normal look, white colour and looking alike to the two bungalows to its sides. Nothing special, but also nothing to complain about. Spending the few hundred metres in mental solitude, not finding something to think about, I went on with it. Ending a thoughtless voyage, I reached the door of the house fitted the key into its hole and after turning it around, I finally entered it. Only placing my pair of boots into the fore chamber, I quickly went on and walked into the living room, the kitchen being to my left side. I spared a glance to Fusou, who was in deep, alcohol induced slumber. I discarded the thought of showring and toothbrushing quickly, not because it would wake her up, for she was in such a state of sleep that only an explosion could wake her. I rather threw it out of the window for the sake of time. Throwing away the unnecessary excuse, since laziness was the prime motivation, I wandered the short path to my bed. But before I entered it, I still found my eyes wandering to the sleeping figure of Fusou. For a short amount of time a predatory, rather primal overtook me and forced the image of me raping her into my mind. I felt my skin tensing on, my fingers shudder from excitement. Then it continued, I saw myself desecrating her lifeless body, chopping of the extremities and indulging myself into the taste of her flesh.

`` **Not. Fucking. Now. ´´,** I silently muttered, pressing my artificial finger nails into the palm of my right hand. All four of them, index, middle, ring and pinkeye buried themselves shallowly into the man-made flesh of my cyborg body. Breathing. I needed to breath for a bit, a quick motion towards my jeans brought forth a small bottle of cheap brandy, which I quickly emptied. 100 millilitres of liquor later, the murderous feelings went off and I could take in the air at a normal pace again. When I mentioned killing my teachers earlier, this wasn't just a figure of speech or so. No. I really wanted to kill some of them. Back in Latin classes I often imagined myself, suddenly jumping up from my place and ramming a pair of scissors into the throat of my teacher. The same could be applied to some of my former class mates. But back then it was just a feeling hidden in the depths of my mind.

Until I started killing, then this primal urge became reality and I started to let loose, to indulge myself into the frenzy of killing in battle. When I command troops, I am clear minded and goal orientated, but when I do the fighting myself, it became something different. Lately, I started to see killing as something like a kind of art, making it gruesome would only increase its worth. Yes, I was clearly out of overdoing it, but after missions, is stayed put. But when I returned from a mission two years ago and had time off, I started to get these overthrowing, sensual attacks of murderous intent, making the form of a brutal murder appear in my mind. With every kill these images get more intense and worse, my last job was a week ago, meaning until we would be able to launch infiltration missions from here, I would need to control myself. At least I have the alcohol at my hands, in order for it to be kept at bay. But sooner or later, I will have to kill something or someone. Maybe, I can keep myself contend with killing animals? It could be helpful, but if it does not satisfy me, I could end up on a frenzy.

Hoping to find some kind of relieve in sleep, I opened the door to my sleeping room and walked into it. After I closed the entrance off, I started to open up my pair of jeans. At first, I removed the black leather belt from it, unbuttoned it and afterwards pulled down the zip. Now standing there with only boxers and a shirt, I started to get rid of the latter and pulled it over my head, which slightly destroyed my hair style, but after a quick hand motion, it was returned to its former glory. Only thing left were the boxer shorts that were also quickly discarded, making me stay here naked , in all of my glory. With two steps, I was before the rather larger bed and sat down on its right side, taking in what happened before. I decided to not worry too much and moved my legs in succession into the bed. A fitting black blanket to the white bedwear was pulled over me and I closed my eyes, quickly drifting into sleep without recounting the things that happened today.


	2. Chapter 2

**Christ, just hoping that I am not messing up the naming here...**

 **Chapter Two: Awakening**

10:58 a.m. was the current time. Rays of light have been entering the room of a certain admiral for hours, but the man remained unfazed. Hermann has always been someone who could sleep everywhere and couldn't be waked up by anything but himself. This behaviour tended to go beyond human understanding, as there was once a house being constructed a few metres away from his window and instead of angrily waking up, then running out to scream the perpetrators for his lack of sleep, he went on with dozing, making his parents believe that he was actually wearing hearing protection, but as this wasn't the case, he just laughed at these words. One would believe, that Hermann than had a problem of getting up early, but after being roughly awakened by his mother for a few times during school time and the need of shorter sleeping cycles, so that it became a possibility from him to keep on gaming into the night, he developed some kind of inner alarm clock, that would automatically go off in his mind, telling him that it was half past six in the morning and that he had to go into school. But this mental concept was furthermore developed into a more real concept after his transformation into a cyborg. From then on, he could enter a time before sleeping for when he would instantly wake up. This sequence would auto-fire if something akin to explosions, screaming or killing was in vicinity. While the process of sleep was more or less artificial in this state, he still had dreams. The conditions for them were always given in his cyborg sleep, so he had them every night. While these dreams were just recollections of his past time activities, they still felt real to him in his slumber. And instead of forgetting them, if not written down after waking up, he carried the information in his mind until deleted by himself. But he never once used this option, memories both good and bad, were something to make you grow, a saying he lived by. Mentioning bad dreams, he currently had one, indicated by restless moving in his bed and an unnerved gaze coming from his shut down eyes.

The experience went on, the clock striking 10:59, Hermann set his timer for 11 a.m., therefore one minute of his nightmarish dreaming remained. The memory that was being projected into his mind was a very bad one, since he rarely moved during the night, even under the influence on a nightmare. 30 seconds to, but the movement kept on, it somehow even increased and his expression became more and more anxious, every second adding to the weight it carried. With him currently being under the wrong influence, another figure has been awake for quite some time. Her name was Fusou, the name ship of the Fusou-class, a super dreadnought from the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was in the process of overcoming her hangover, one would think that ship girl, more akin to a machine than to a human, would not bet able to get drunk and have a leftover of drunken maze. But some things seem other then they often are, so is it with ship girls. Instead of being pure mechanical beings, with a computer as mind. They had personality, a connection to the past through their status as warships. The computer, serving as their brain wasn't just a machine. No. It was a living being. The computer was biologically engineered, built of the stem cells of a human being, a brain was nurtured into existing and then combined with a normal computer. The brain would give them the same capabilities as a human, allowing them to feel emotions but also to make unorthodox combat decisions. The follow up CPU was reserved for calculating firing distances and analysing the enemy. The same principle was used for their body, meaning that it was made from a natural core, but infused with high tech. On a more extreme way then with the brain but boiled down, the process was still the same.

Hermann's brain was relatively the same, while methods were different, in his case it was execrated from a half dead body, unnecessary parts were being discarded, only keeping his personality and memories intact. Coming back to the dazed and confused girl, one could see her slowly stumbling towards the bed room of Hermann. What was her goal? Did she want to wake him up?

 _Admiral, I will show you what I have learned from your words. I want to keep what you told me dearly. I don't want to disappoint you again and in order to prove this, I will be more direct from now on._

While she was in a more clearer state then eight hours ago, there was still some alcohol pumping through her veins. This state of being is called _Restfettn_ in Austrian German, loosely translated it means something akin to _remaining drunkenness_ , but as it always is with slang and local traditions in language, they can't be correctly translated. So with this in mind, Fusous behaviour was not currently being held beck by the restraints of common sense that would normally tell her: _NO, it is not okay to just jump into bed with someone you barley know._ But currently, this meant nothing to Fuosu, so she walked on towards the sleeping admiral. The door was swiftly opened and Fusou set sight on the admiral before her. She expected to see something akin to a sprayed out sleeping position, thinking that it would the free minded man. But she found something different, unexpected movements, anxious expressions and a wild shuddering.

Ten seconds. Ten seconds remained until he would wake up, but in this short time, the female visitor made as resolution. She rushed to his side, she needed to comfort him somehow. A quick plan formed in her mind, she would hug him and them speak caring, reassuring words to him. 3 seconds. Her arms moved around his chest and pulled him in, her chest touching his naked upper body. 1 second. She started with part two of her quickly made up plan and was about to star talking to him, but the inner clock of Hermann came quicker, and he opened his eyes.

An unfazed expression was formed as he returned from the land of dreams, without having Fusou in mind, he spoke: `` Rise and Shine. ´´ Then he finally turned his head towards her and continued: `` Good morning, Fusou. Have you gotten rid of your drunkenness and has a hangover taken its place, or do still have some booze running through your veins? ´´

The battleship was taken by surprise, but still remained in the embrace, she initiated moments ago. _What?! He just had a nightmare, one would normally be kind of exhausted, have an increased heart beat or sweat a bit. But he…. He is completely calm, even asking me how I feel right now!_

`` I would appreciate it, if you could let me go from this tight embrace. You ship girls have tremendous strength, especially battle ships, meaning that a normal human like me could feel uncomfortable from being under such constraints. ´´, Hermann went on.

But Fusou only realised to late, that she was (not really) hurting him with her brute strength. The time between his words and the cancellation of her affectionate action was spent ponding. She couldn't get behind him right now. At first there was the whole nightmare thing, secondly, he acted in a different way. Being much calmer than normally, differentiating him from his normal laid-back personality. But she was quickly ripped from her train of thought, as an _ahm_ from the German admiral came into her ears. Therefore, she let him go and he sat up on his bed, the blanket still hiding his lower body. He moved his head around, making cracking sounds with it, which still occurred, even after he was turned into a machine-man hybrid. Hermann then let out an artificial yawn and stretched his hands upwards. He turned around his face, so that he could take a look at the startled super-dreadnought. His calm and cool-minded eyes starred into her anxious reacting expression, taking a good look at her. He did this not without an intention in his mind, as he wanted a quick resolution for this current occurrence. Currently, he was still naked, and he didn't want Fusou to suddenly see his private parts. Not because he had something to be ashamed of, but rather for Fusous sake, as he thought that such a sight would pretty much lead her to embarrassed screaming. So he made up a plan in his made, one that was quickly conducted in a short time of formulation. Calling it a plan was certainly overstretching it, as his strategy for success, was just to kindly ask her to leave. But Hermann enjoyed overdoing things, everything was deemed and handled like the lives of his compatriots were at stake. And certainly, there could be life on the line, not a physical one, but if Fusou were to see his crown jewels and the information would spread around the base, his social life would surely end. False accusations and court martialling will then be thrown upon him, something he rather sought out to avoid. That meant that the dazed ship girl needed to leave and her confusion served to make this task a bit harder. She looked like she wants answers from the German. Why was he moving around like this? Did he have a bad nightmare? Normally, Hermann would appreciate such behaviour, but right now, he had different things in mind.

`` Being blunt and bold isn't an accurate description of mine, while I still often make the impression that I am, I can assure everyone on the globe of my sincerity and thoughtfulness when speaking. But right now the circumstances call for a different approach, so I won't be spending my time leisurely talking and explaining the why's for my bidding. Cutting it short, I like to sleep naked. Meaning that currently, I am not wearing any clothes. So I would appreciate it, if you could leave my bed room, so that I can quickly change into my morning clothing. We can than continue the talking at the kitchen table, instead at the side of my bed. ´´

The information took a while to show off its effect. The first moments, Fusou was still listening to his words, somehow expecting a kind of different reason like _I don't need your help_ or _This should not concern you, leave me alone_. To be honest, this wasn't her first time seeing someone in a nightmarish state and every time she discovered someone, who currently was being tortured by this experience, she instantly tried to help. Most of the time the ones on the receiving end accepted her assistance, but often enough there were ship girls fonder of dealing with their bad memories in a state of solitude. These people than rejected her proposal, some even outright attacked her, for they probably thought that she was belittling them. This lead to the Japanese battleship believing that she was in the process of rejection. But her sixth sense was proven wrong again with this admiral. As he did not reject her, even offering to talk things through later on. At first she felt relieved, but a few seconds later she actually realized what was really going on. The admiral was naked and directly in front of her, something she wasn't expecting. She thought that men preferred to sleep only in their shorts, as she read that in some kind of magazine she found at the base. But the man facing her proved this assumption wrong. Truth be told, she imagined him in his under wear when she was about to wake him up, the thought even making her blush. But the reaction from this new information, was relatively similar to the former, but different in intensity. With every passed by millisecond, her cheeks grew redder, a quiet shivering started to spread from her hands and she was in a state of shock _. He was wearing nothing, he was completely naked._ Simple thoughts, but a strong reaction.

`` N-n-naked…y-you saa-y? ´´, she stuttered in an unbelievable intensity.

`` Correct. ´´

`` I-I see then….Admiral is not wearing anything….. ´´, she continued in a lower volume as she moved both index fingers together and repeated to point them against each other, while looking down very ashamed. But even in her state, there was a bit of pride and power left, so she managed to stand up and began to slowly walk out. `` I-I wi-ill be waiting then for you. ´´, were her last words before leaving the room.

At the moment she left the room, Hermann's gaze was averted from the door and he quickly started to lose his composure, he began to breath irregularly and even artificial pearls of sweat formed on his skin. Yes, he currently had one of his urges. The exact moment when he awakened from his dreams and found himself in her embrace, something was about to snap. Hermann did not really have a nightmare, many would still call it so, but not him. But it also was not a fond memory of his, since this one reminded him of something grim. In his dreams he was shown the exact day, two years ago, on which he began to have his urges. And while she showed to be more brutal on his missions than other agents, it was on this day, on this mission that he let loose. It was a clear and simple task, get into the base, steal some data from the Abyssals and get out. The data was supposed to be some kind of correlation that certain terrorist groups had with the enemy. He was quick on his feet and managed to do the job quickly, but on his way out, Hermann was shortly distracted and ran into a patrol consisting of two abyssal ships. While they were mainly used for naval activities, many could also be used for shock attacks on the ground as the second battle of Jutland showed. But one could not use them for longer campaigns on the ground, as they could be dispatched by mines and land forces more easily than by the navy on water. Sentry jobs could also bee done very well by them, as the had extended radar and a live feed. And Hermann managed to get caught in crime.

After he killed of the patrol, only consisting of two destroyers, a lot of enemy ships were quickly at his heels and he had to duke it out with them. While the first half of the battle was decided by Hermann's hit and run tactics, the later half is the one that caused all of his current problems. He wanted to continue to fight on like he did it to the first attack force, but he made one sever mistake, which is now etched into his mind as a mantra for combat. _Never underestimate your enemy._ He did it and payed the price. Instead of facing the second wave of as intended, he was severely exhausted and down on energy after the brawl. So when he engaged fleet number two and he got surrounded by them, something snapped and he was taken over by primal urges. Normally, a human would release the hormone adrenalin to increase his physical capabilities in stress situations, but Hermann does not have this commodity back as a cyborg. Therefore, his mind forcefully overwrote the coding in his computer and added a new ability. Pleasure to Kill. While it would give the user unparalleled strength and endurance, his mental restrictions would severely be loosened. In his case that meant one thing. All the built-up frustration, the hate, the anger and annoyance would be let loose upon the enemy. Mayhem and carnage were the two new defining words of his battle career. Since then he became different, meaning that every now and then these urges would appear, making the second life he lived outside of Gespensterdivision a lot more strenuous.

After thinking about the origin of this real nightmare, Hermann decided that he would not really achieve anything by just letting thoughts passing through his mind. Currently there is no cure for his digital disease, he needs to live with it or perish while trying to do so. But there are certainly other important things right now, as he needs to get many things done. Dressing up was his first task, therefore he quickly stood up, his naked body gracing every fortunate soul that was watching(or not). He walked towards the cupboard, which was on the opposite side of the window and to the left of the bed. After realizing his error, Hermann quickly motioned towards the bed and crawled over to the other side. Soon then, he found himself in front of the big closet. Made out of wood and painted in a slim type of black, the wooden construction made a simple but still gracious look. It was sectioned into three parts, the first one to Hermann's right was filled up with his pants, which were jeans, military grade pants and the ones complementary to a suit. The middle section is, where the bulk of his jackets were arranged, and the left segment not only included his tops that were mostly T-shirts, but also a compartment for his underwear.

He opened the left sections and pulled out a pair of black boxers, which he quickly put on. Then he took out a military grade, greenish sports T-shirt. After a rapid inspection, he dressed himself in it and proceeded to the segment with the trousers, where he took a brownish pair of military pants. Finishing his look, he made a quick jump to the mirror that was on the other end of the room and looked at himself. After accepting that his current dressing was acceptable, he walked to the door of the bedroom, which he opened in quick succession. Since Hermann was not an official member of the newly reinstated Imperial Japanese Navy, he became a kind of odd case concerning the clothing. Meaning that he did not have official standards to meet, which came in very lucky for him, since he was in favour of comfortable clothing that could be put under some stress in combat situations. This then lead to the situation in Germany, where he could be found in the same clothing he just put on, working as an Admiral.

He left the bed room after quickly correcting his hair style and walked to the kitchen table, were the self-proclaimed _unlucky Battleship_ sat. Before she could even utter a word upon seeing the admiral, Hermann already took the initiative and said: `` So, what was that all about? Coming into my room and snuggling up, don't you think this comes a bit too quick, Fusou? ´´

The last statement and its implying nature pulled out the truth from Fuous, meaning that her cheek changed from purely white to a lighter tone of red. With her visible embarrassment, Fusou tried to collect some words as an answer. Her reaction towards the deed she commited a few minutes ago, meant that she somehow lost the last drop of alcohol that gave her the confidence, which she needed for the boldness that said act had. So, with an unstable voice, the super dreadnought prepared a reply, reeking of uncertainty: `` W-we-ll I-ii heard the sound o-of something falling down….. ´´, before she continued, a calm turned up that quickly left for the storm: `` I was concerned for your well-being, Admiral! An Abyssal could've attacked you! ´´

 _Really? I don't think so, Fusou. You had some bad intentions back then in your mind._ Being unfazed by the blatant lie, Hermann sighed and walked over closer to her. Fusou flinched at his enclosure, somehow implying that Hermann would punish her right now or that she expected him to do so, but Hermann simply took a seat in opposition to her.

`` I know that you are spitting bullshit right now, but I don't really care, so do me a favour and swear that ya won't repeat such undertakings. I don't appreciate it, when somebody surprises me with such things.´´, he simply replied.

She simply nodded at his statement, not even trying to come up with anything, for she learned from her earlier experiences with the admiral. For a while both of them just sat there, not uttering a word. And while Hermann lazily looked into his tablet, which he acquired before the take-off, Fusou on the other hand just continued to stare around. Her gaze didn't really meet someone or something, she was just revolving it around the room like a search light, desperately hoping to find something that could lift the awkward atmosphere. For her this whole ordeal reached a new level of embarrassment, for the dreadnought tended to pride herself in elegant and diligent, not in acts like the ones she pulled off in the last ten hours. Hermann, compared to Fusou, handled such things differently. While this situations couldn't be considered to be even half as awkward to him as it is to Fusou, he certainly had even worse situations to deal with. But instead of backing down, he tends to face problems head on. But this ordeal isn't even worth to be called a problematic issue. He has seen more stupid shit and partook in even more stupid and shameful actions. Therefore, he found his time better spent looking up some news on the tablet.

He was currently checking his emails, one of them was from Gregor, which told him that the liquor was fantastic and the started the construction of the first ship girl. Hermann smiled at this revelation, not only that it meant progress, but there was also a personal reason behind it. The ship that they would construct was the Bismarck, names ship of her class. A battleship of many legends and myths, being the one to sink the pride of the Royal Navy, the battlecruiser HMS Hood, and while he knew that this whole operation did not change anything in the battle for the Atlantic, the resources would have been better spent in Dönitz's U-boats, he still was infatuated with the ship. But this was not the only reason for him to be delighted, the next one was the first statement in the mail, telling him about the liquor he talked about in the phone call with Gregor. Sharing a good spirit with some of your friends, letting them find out the finesse behind beverage and overall just enjoying your time with his comrades, is something Hermann seeks out to do. While he can write novels about his favourite Whiskies, having a friend of yours experience the same thing brings him even more joy.

Hermann than changed to another tab in his browser, opening a common news site, where he tried to find something interesting. After spending a few minutes browsing and finding nothing that would be worth mentioning, her returned his gaze to Fusou. She literally jumped out of her chair when both of their eyes met. Hermann let out a sigh and got on with his morning procedure, thinking that he could break the ice with. In order to put his plan into motion, he stood up and walked towards the fridge, but before he opened it, he looked towards the ship girl, who reacted in a more restrained manner this time, and said: `` Want a beer? ´´

`` Excuse me? ´´, she replied with a dumfounded look. The man in front of her is offering her alcohol again, even after she just got over her hang over.

`` Das wichtigste in da fria is a bia! ´´, he practically roared out, accompanied with a small chuckling sound afterwards.

`` Admiral, I can't follow your words….. ´´, she returned, frantically searching for a meaning in his speech.

`` Didn't expect you to understand it, since it is German. More a slang than high German, but not something full grown like the styrian accent. Just a saying that we practised as a running gag back then. Loosely translated it means _The most important thing in the morning is a beer_. But the reason why we found it funny is not just the reaction we can get from people, but also because it rhymes. If I reckon correctly, we got it from some kind of satire of an Austrian politician. ´´, he went on without a care in the world.

Fusou was actually a bit chuckling about his words, most likely for the rhyme. `` I didn't even expect you to find this at least funny, I mean we laugh about it for its stupidity. ´´

`` Well, if it is from the admiral, it will always be entertaining. ´´, she answered with a tone that was a bit more upbeat and additionally adding a sincere smile.

`` Wow, I am getting pitied. Not funny, totally not funny at all. ´´, Hermann said while sighing. `` But I am guessing that after your crash from before that you won't be needing another beer. But I will surely get myself one, tough. ´´ He pulled out a bottle of Pilsner, then walked over to the kitchen cupboard, where he knew the bottle opener had been placed by him.

`` Was it your first time? Getting drunk, I mean? ´´

`` Yes Admiral. While I have consumed sake long before your arrival, I certainly did it only to a small extent and rarely outside of festive occasions. ´´, she stood up while replying and made a deep bow, so deep that her rather loosely worn uniform revealed her bare cleavage for Hermann to look out.

 _Oh Gott, why are you doing this again? I can see your chest, aren't you aware of this?_ Hermann thought to himself, why here began to marvel at her well-developed chest size. But this is not a cheap doujin, so he regained his focus quickly, his urges not kicking in this time. But before he could actually make a reply, the super dreadnought overtook him and bellowed out with an accompanying, slight blush: `` I am deeply sorry, Admiral! ´´

`` At ease, Fusou. Cut it already, will ya? That is not something to be fucking ashamed off. The first time I was completely drunk, compared to that kind of drunk I had back then, yours was a walk in the park, the man in front of you managed to not only vomit onto a friend of his, but also soiled the complete living room! Then another time I achieved the glorious accomplishment of starting a bar fight in my alcohol induced maze. You just tried to have some good time with me! Things like that happen, just leave it behind and look forward. ´´, he returned at her gesture.

With his words Hermann threw Fusou into a state of speechlessness, taken aback from his statements she returned to a more normal stance, but was still not able to reply. She never had to deal with situations like this one right now. At first there was the fact that the Admiral was directly before her, in the past she only received orders from the other Admiral of this base, in fact he never really talked to the ship girls. Additionally, Hermann pretty much did not care in the least about etiquette, if he did, he would have punished Fusou the moment she ran into him. His act, his demeanour and his words were as foreign to her as his complexion. Dealing with the Abyssals is not hard for her, these are just he enemies, kill them or they kill you, even Fusou, being from the shyer side, could handle that with ease. But socializing was a whole different area. Normally she would keep her conversations within her dorm, most of the time with her sister Yamashiro. Even though there are many ship girls who are a lot more social, one of them even flirts with personnel from time to time, they were not built to do such things. In her mind, she was a ship at first, then a banner of hope and then a person. If these thoughts are just a big excuse for her social inexperience or sincere is up to debate, but if one or the other comes out on top, it still won't change the fact that Fusou has a problem when dealing with people other then her sister and ship girls. Even though Hermann managed to spark an ember in her yesterday, most of it was probably done by the influence of the two beers she consumed before. In all honesty, the German Admiral doesn't care if she can handle socializing or not, as long as she is capable of combat and kicks the Abyssals back from where they came, he would prefer a fleet that wasn't edgy all the time, but as long as the results were within his expectations, he could tolerate it.

But when he started something, it is very hard for him to just threw it a side and leave it there. `` Just see it like this, okay? Every experience has some kind of value, both good and bad. For example, now you know how much booze you can consume until you fall into a daze. Believe me, this will give you an advantage in future occasions, knowing how much you can drink combined with a diligent mind as yours, will turn you into a badass when drinking. You will always know how much you can drink for every event. Back when I was a teenager, most of us didn't care at all and we ended up with a headache and a pool of vomit the next morning. Believe me, when I say this as I am very sincere with this topic, for alcohol is one of my specialities. And let me tell you something, yes while your experience surely wasn't a pleasant one…´´, he pointed his right index finger at her and continued: `` You have gained something today! And the weight of this new-found gift massively outweighs the one coming from previous mishap! So, do me a favour and don't act like you have, I don't know…. Yes, barfed at your friends or ended up sleeping in a bare acre! ´´

With his loudly spoken words, Hermann again scored a critical hit at her, leading to a, by now, well know shiver of hers. So, to bypass this problematic, Hermann had to come up with something and since he Fuosu's image was the one of a diligent worker that always listens to her superiors, he quickly found a way to make her do as he said.

`` Fusou! ´´, he called her out. The ship girl quickly regained her focus, stopped averting her eyes and firmly looked at Hermann. `` What I just said a few moments ago is now an official order! I expect you to you to not only stop acting like someone posted nudes of you on Facebook, but you will also take the things I just told you as seriously as your life would depend on it! Understood? ´´

`` Yes, sir! ´´, she literally bellowed out, catching him by surprised. He assumed that she would reply differently than before, but the tenacity in those two words were even outlived his expectations. If ship girls were like this when issued an order, then they were real professionals. Being able to quickly switch from social to battle mode is not naturally given, you need to slowly accustom yourself to it and while there are people who get this done with more ease then others, it is still something you need to put work into. This revelation made a small smirk form on the admiral's face, for he could expect a good time working with the ship girls. But he was certainly far-fetching things here, since that was just an assumption. Fusou could actually be the only professional one, nonetheless just as the former one, this postulation was even more unlike to become reality. So, he refrained from making any further and came back to the actual matters at hand. The first one in that case being that Fusou was still at his place. Not that he didn't like her company, he likes teasing the ship girl and also that she has some respect for him, therefore being rather the opposite from it. However, after spending hours of late night socializing, he wanted some solitary peace for now, since he will be missing out on that front for some time.

Not keeping things for too long, he was about to grab the problem at its root before it could even get the chance to spread more. Hermann spoke: `` I don't want to sound rude or so, Fusou…. But I gotta be honest with for now, meaning that you should probably return to your dorm for now. I guess that your fellow battleships are missing out on you and I need some time to prepare for my duties. ´´

While the super dreadnaught certainly looked disappointed at her admiral, like he somehow rejected her, she quickly realised that if he would have been like the other naval personnel here, she might actually had stretched her luck here. Nevertheless, she knew that he wasn't like them, he gave out a caring and understanding aura, even letting her sleep in that miserable state hours before, a rasher person would have just kicked her out. Therefore she accepted the matters at hand and answered with a short, but strongly accentuated _Hai!,_ then also adding a salute. Hermann nodded at this response and saluted back at her. Not wasting anytime, the battleship walked towards the fore chamber of the admiral's bungalow and left the room with haste.

Waiting a few moments for her to get out of hearing reach, Hermann finally opened the bottle and took a long sip of the sparkling brew before setting at back at the table. Then he walked towards the kitchen table with his beer still in hands and took a seat at the same position where he placed he tablet. The man read something rather interesting when Fusou was still there, an email from a good friend of his. This time not being from Gregor, he reopened it and took a good look at it again. The guy who sent it to him got by the name of Alexander Schwarzeisen, not being a German, but an American this time. While the name still sounded like a German one, many American last names did so. Hermann met Alexander many years ago, knowing him since his parents were diplomats in Germany and he visited the same school as him. After the Abyssals attacked, he and his parents returned to the states like many others, but they kept in contact afterwards via mail. As it was right now, Alexander followed his parents footsteps, becoming a politician. However instead of being just a diplomat in foreign lands, his rhetorical skill and efficient way of handling things got him into high positions already by the tender age of 20, also to the factor that the US was lacking personnel right now. For the years leading up to this point he has been a member of many statue intrigues and is now trying to become president at the next vote. He is also the number one informant for Gespensterdivision when it concerns the US, since he became a semi-member of it through Hermann.

The German looked at the mail another time:

 _From: makeamericagreatagain ._

To: _kingcrimson ._

 _How is it going Hermann? Shits certainly rough here right now, believe me if I say so. But there is also something wonderful to tell you, i totally mean it. Not some shit like building a wall or increasing the army funds, compared to that, these things are just like sand corns. Well, like most other beings on this planet with internet connection, you know that we currently have some kind of cold civil war here in the US, but we have just managed to get a breakthrough with one of the parties there. Well, I'll cut it short, for you since I know that you don't have got much time at your hands right now. Diplomatic annexation. We have actually managed to bring them into fold and convinced the populace to re-join the states. For quite some time now they had some problems with socialist rebels in the state of Washington and since we kept most of the military after the crash, they did not have the means to really deal with them. So after some all-night long deal making, their leaders signed a contract and we annexed them. First thing to do now is to kick out those rebels, I guess. Nevertheless, I have some additional things to tell you. First of them is that we now have our pacific ports back and can start to take back some islands or so, look forward to the carriers cruising through the sea. Then R &D got a breakthrough with the American ship girl program, we really have to thank the japs here for giving us the tech to do so, the real government wouldn't have done so, but those anti-monarchists that fled from the land of the rising sun really gave us some shit to work with. Third thing on the list is the influence that I got in the government now after spearheading that annexation campaign, not only the other peeps in the council have a good opinion of me now, but also the civilians think well of me now, clap clap. But I gotta end that mail now, still got some paperwork to do. I attached some pictures of the first ship girl, which we created just now._

 _Hoping that no one can track this,_

 _Alexander._

`` Nice! ´´, exclaimed Hermann after reading the email from his American friend. `` Very good. Alexander you really managed to make quite some things over there, it was very wise of us to let you join. If we can manage to let things play out, as we intend to, then we have a good chance of ridding the world of the Abyssal threat once and for all. ´´ Herman made a short pause of thought, but soon after calming down from his joy, he went on: `` But at first, I need to deal with Japan here. Additionally, the government here won't be really happy, if they find out that America is creating their own ship girls right now, especially since the tech was given to them by deserters. All in all this makes things a bit a lot more difficult than anticipated, but with this extra fleet we could re-establish international trade routes. However, for now the soon to be finished north pole route can open, allowing us to ship objects with relative safety to all states that lie somewhere there. So basically only us in Europe, Russia and the USA. Japan could join our trade route too, but in order for that to happen, we need to clear the area first and things aren't looking to bad for this to happen, since in a week or so my fleet will arrive. Ship girls plus an offensive high-seas fleet should be enough of fire power to throw them back, allowing us to create a route from Hokkaido to Sakhalin and then to Kamchatka where we have plans of building a big port that could theoretically accommodate large trade ships. ´´

Getting a hind of his behaviour to plan three steps ahead and speaking out loud when thinking is enough to portray an idea, Hermann abruptly stopped and returned to his table where he began to write an answer to his friend. Since Hermann was a natural fast tipper and he tended to keep his replies really short, he finished the task rather quickly. First thing to write were common polite greetings, then shortly complementing him on his achievement and writing about further steps afterwards. Ending the whole email with a _Knowing that nobody besides us can read this, Hermann._ he sent the mail back to Alexander. The mail service of Gespensterdivision is indeed one that can't be traced easily, as it uses a private satellite, which was launched after the Abyssal catastrophe and is therefore nowhere listed. Additionally, a specialized coding program encrypts all of them with random numbers all the time, making hijacking the thing virtually impossible. One could always go up into space and place a chip into the satellite to intercept every signal, but even under the speculation that some government does not only have the exact orbit route of it, but also the means to do so, it would still self-destruct after being opened. Hence, security was on their site and for those reasons Hermann felt safe about the mail not being intercepted, but still one cannot be cautious enough. Especially if you enemies are some kind of lizard-zombie things.

`` Better get going then, still lot of things need to be done today. Let's see… ´´, he checked his mind quickly: `` First on the list would be to get into my office. I should pack the things that I want to place there now. Next thing would be an introduction of my subsequently fleet, should be around one or two p.m. then, meaning that I would eat my habitual late dinner. Afterwards I will be setting a chain of command, I want them to work in intersectional squads, but all of that depends on how much ship girls I get in the end and what classes they are. Compared to the other tasks this is certainly going to take longer, for it is very important to not rush a decision of such importance. I can somehow see the picture of sitting until late night with organizing everything, but that includes not only fleet composition but also annoying paperwork, hmmm…. Got it, I will just condemn one of the ship girls to be my eternal paper work helper. Forgot to add drinking, but since I do this all the time, it is a given. ´´

Hermann then made it quick to set his plan into motion and he grabbed a black sports bag, which he miraculously found on the floor and totally not just left there when he was decorating here. First thing to take was his notebook, compared to his gaming rig it was literally nothing but still good enough to play Eu4, watch anime or for the tedious task of creating excel tables. Just then he thought about getting an additional excel helper, but since he would have to teach her that, he refrained from it. The German went on with his search and found a small, but still good working sound system. He bought it before coming here, being aware of the fact that he would need to set up his office. He continued with just some decorative things like pictures of mountain ranges and so on. After having stuffed his bag, he nearly forgot the most important thing he wanted to bring. An object of his longing desire. It was not a doujin collection, but something equally wonderful. After getting his clothes into the cupboards in his new bed room, he just dropped it besides his bed, meaning that he found it pretty soon. Hermann picked it up and took al good look at it. A black scabbard was what he held, but there was something precious inside of the container. A medieval longsword. Not form that age but crafted after old documents. The sword in total was about 140 centimetres long and weighed around one and a half kilograms. Most of this length could be attributed to the long blade of the weapon, which was beautifully crafted. It was made out of hand crafted, heat-tempered steel, which was made out of multiple layers of steel. From the bottom to the beginning of the tip was a broad fuller, taking away a bit of weight from the blade. The tip was crafted into a diamond shape, giving it better piercing abilities than a rounder tip. The guard was also made out of steel, but this time it was a lot thicker than the blade, having a diameter of around 0,8 centimetres. It stretched out 15 centimetres from each side, both parts then ended in an accumulation of steel, not only serving the purpose of catching a blade, but also adding more impact for an improvised murderers stroke. Moving on, the hilt of the sword could be seen, which was wrapped up in a strong, brown leather on that you could see intersections. These would than used to give the hands of the user a better grip on the sword. The final part of the sword was the pommel, it was elongating from the end of the hilt onwards, ending in a spherical hexagonal shape.

`` Maybe I could do some practising afterwards, but I should not put my money on it, since there is just so much to do for this day. Nevertheless, it will certainly make a good decoration for my office. ´´, he said while gazing at his blade.

Hermann continued with his task of packing and added to his already nearly full sports bag some bottles of whisky. Them being Glendronach 18 YO, Lagavulin 16 YO, Highlandpark 12 YO and his fabled Gelnfarclas 15 YO. The liquor was accompanied by two nosing glasses, which he took with him, as he intended to have a dram or two with his guests. He stored the bottles carefully, the glasses even more, out of the fear of breaking them. While he strongly doubted that someone would crash into him again, he liked it to play safer with things like that. Therefore, he wrapped the glasses into multiple layers of kitchen paper for extra protection. Hermann also thought about putting bubble wrap around his fragile objects, but this was overdoing it, even for his standards. With all of his belongings for office use together, he was now somewhat ready to for this undertaking. So, he took the bag and walked straight to the fore chamber, where he quickly located his black military boots. Hermann placed the sports bag onto the floor and put his right foot into the boot. After tying it up, he repeated the same course with the left one. Compared to his night before, he rejected the idea of wearing a jacket, since it wouldn't really fit to his military clothing and the longer top, which would have fitted to it is somewhere in the clothing cupboard. With his often times lazy attitude in mind and his body not being sensitive to a lack of warmth, he left the bungalow. But before he could actually take the voyage to his office, he had to do the arduous task of finding the right key for the lock. After having tasted half of the keys on the ring for about one and a half minute, he found the one that fitted into the lock and turned it.

A sudden and closer coming revving of an engine entered his audial sensors and he quickly turned around to see a familiar vehicle closing in. He was surprised by its appearance, not thinking that someone actually listened to his bid. Back in Germany Hermann said that he would prefer it to have some kind of vehicle for the base. Not because he was too lazy for walking, but rather since he wanted to be able to quickly move from point A to B. When he wrote this, he half-jokingly proposed for the vehicle to be the Wiesel tankette. When he still served in the army, he and some of his friends took this thing for a ride into the woods and had a lot of fun with it. Since then he had always dreamt of having one and while he could theoretically have one, he never would have had the time to drive it. Therefore, this idea came to his mind when he added this point. In all honesty, Hermann believed that he would only get some kind of golf cart.

After having pulled out the key from its hole, Hermann walked over to the tracked vehicle. He still had a look of positive surprise on his face as he came closer and inspected it. He could identify the Wiesel as the Wiesel 1 ATM TOW version, which had a TOW anti-tank rocket mounted on its top. It went together with a MG3 machine gun, the modern version of the fabled MG42 that is also widely known for its nick name _Hitler's Buzzsaw_ that was attributed to the weapons tremendous fire rate of 1200 shots per minute.

The Wiesel halted directly before Hermann's bungalow, the track giving it the ability to stop pretty much immediately upon braking. A hatch opened in the front of the vehicle and to his surprise a pinked haired woman stepped out of it. Her hair was pretty long and dyed in a bright pink, while the girl's eyes were an olive green. Clothing consisted out of some kind of sailor/stereotypical anime school uniform. The first option would be a better fit, since he was probably a ship girl after the first deduction.

`` Hello there, I am Admiral Scipio. May I inquire your name? ´´, he took the first step in the conversation.

`` Of course, sir. I am the naval bases repair ship, Akashi. As you can see, I was tasked to deliver you this nice piece of hardware here. The people who brought it here a few days ago, had no idea what to do with it and therefore the boss just dumped it at my place. Jeez, sometimes this can really get on my nerves, it isn't like I don't have anything to do or so! I am a repair ship damnit, not some delivery boy! ´´

`` Calm down, calm down. I know what you are getting at, believe me I had to deal with such things back in Germany too, but I'd rather have a professional deal with complicated things, than some kind of mong, who doesn't really know what he is doing. ´´, he replied while moving both of his arms in a slow downward motion.

`` Yeah Admiral. While you are right on that notion, I still have other things to do, repairing ship gear for example. But while I am at it, would you tell me why you ordered this thing here? ´´, Akashi inquired.

Hermann chuckled at her comment, reminding him of the rather ridiculous for the appearance of the Wiesel. `` Believe it or not, up until you arrived here with it, I wouldn't have thought that somebody took this request even with an ounce of interest. I was just asking them about a vehicle in a form, but then got the brilliant idea to ask for this Wiesel instead of ahhhmm.. I don't know, a golf cart maybe? ´´

`` People here take things a bit more serious, you should have known that, but while I am probably going to do overtime since I had to take care of this little tank here, I still had a blast driving it. So, there is nothing to complain about. ´´

`` Yeah, yeah. People often tell me to be a bit more serious, but I never would've believed that someone actually gave this paper a pass after reading it. Also, who in the name of Christ just sent one over so casually? Normally something like that is supposed to be a bit on the expansive side and I doubt that the Japanese military thinks that spending quite some cash on some wannabe admiral is a good idea. But hey, whatever, things can't be changed right now and if you want, we could do some fun rides in it, since it is a two seater. ´´

`` Quite an offering, Admiral. I'll probably take it up when I got less workload to do, but right now things are rather problematic. ´´

`` Pray tell? ´´, the German asked.

`` You see, a few days ago we had a major battle with the abyssals, but it ended not so good you could say. A fifth of the fleet suffered detrimental damage, giving them an unwanted leave for about the rest of the week. And while we managed to achieve our goal, the costs aren't really being covered by the spoils, so a pyrrhic victory. For me it means that I will be working non-stop, finished the surgeries for the more damaged girls yesterday. I had to work all day, had only a few breaks and all of the destroyed gear needs to be replaced. ´´ Akashi sighed in a way that showed her frustration that was currently being propelled into new heights, but she quickly changed her way when she lightly hit the Wiesel `` But this cute thing here gave me something different to think about, while I was cruising in it. Hope, ya don't mind for using it. ´´

Hermann waved her off and spoke: `` No problem, everyone needs something to distract them from work. I normally shoot with some guns, play video games or drink good liquor. And while I am at it… ´´, Hermann zipped up his sports bag and spent some time, cursing included, searching for something. After too much time (and too much _Fick dichs_ ), he finally found what he was looking. While he was doing so, Akashi couldn't help but chuckle at the Admirals struggle, which he didn't mind. `` And while I am at it, take this as a compensation for the troubles that I made you. ´´

He handed her a small bottle of Whisky, the flask only accommodating 2 cl of the precious liquid. The glass on its own was natural see through, while the Scottish spirit coloured most of it in a gold-yellow tone. A small paper logo was printed on its supposed front, saying Glendronach 12 YO. Being one if his favourites, Hermann can only recommend this bottle, for it offers a good amount of sherry and fruits, but is also not to complex, therefore being a good choice for beginners. He hooked on of his friends back at home into the Whisky craze with this one.

`` Hmm, I have never really tried something different from beer or sake, but I have also never drove a tankette and I freaking loved it. Admiral, I will make my best to savour it! ´´, she replied.

`` I hope so, if you feel like it, you can always pay me a visit and drink a dram or two with me. ´´

`` I will surely take you up on that, but sadly I get the a voice in my head right now, which is telling me to move back to work, meaning that I have to sadly go now. ´´, she said as she began to slightly jog away, but in the last moment turned around and shouted whiel waving her right hand: `` See you later! ´´

`` Bye! ´´, Hermann returned in a raised voice, before a dark revelation overcame him. He forgot to hand her one of his noosing glasses. A shudder overcame him with complete surprise, he felt the urge to tremble and felt not good. It reminded him of his murderous urges, but this was in his mind a real problem. He could supress the urges, that is not a problem, but you can not experience whisky the right way without a noosing glass. Would she just drink it from the bottle? The thought alone gave him even more shivers, but he didn't not dare to use the t word, describing a certain form of glass that real wannabes tended to use. Cutting the whisky advertisement to a chase, Hermann returned his attention to the vehicle in front of him. The little Wiesel stood, despite its size, proudly before him and was ready to show off what it can do. Not holding back his excitement, Hermann touched the cold metal armour of the Wiesel, the cool feeling it gave off upon touch reminded him of the larger Leopard 2 tanks back at home that were among his favourites. While he really like the current main battle tank of the German Empire, he knew that it was due for a replacement. His love for everything military and the strong urge for progress met together and he became involved in the development of the new Leopard 3. Honouring its name, Gespensterdivision also became involved in it and added some wonderful features to the machine. At the moment, it was still a prototype, but there would soon be an arms expo in Germany, where the Empire and its allies could show off their newest innovations. Russia would also be a big player there, since they recently entered an alliance with the Empire.

`` People tend to say that my affection for military vehicles is just creepy, that I should rather spent my time looking for a good girl instead of working, drinking and researching myself to kingdom come. But I refute such claims, I like what I am doing and thoroughly enjoy it, so I won't let it be taken away by people who cannot think beyond their own echo-sphere…. ´´, the man in his simple military clothing chuckled in a slow manner, before he returned to his speech with an empty audience: `` But what am I even getting at here? I have things to do and ranting about ignorance is not something I should waste my time with right now. My speech shall be a hidden one, but my words of resentment remain. I should see this as a sort of break instead of an annoying ordeal. Yes, I would rather fight at home, but there are a lot of national interests here in the pacific. If it weren't for the pictures we took months ago with our new _Walküre_ satellite, we would not have accepted this offer. Other than that, I doubt there will be something world shaking here to do. Going on solo missions will probably be the only real thing that I am going to miss. Supressing my urges to kill is a whole other issue, but if suddenly there is one deer or homeless guy absent here, I personally doubt the people here would be seriously missing them. For now, I will let those kinds of issues just sail right at me, I am going to deal with them head on. ´´

Hermann climbed on to the top of the Wiesel, his sports bag following suit in his left hand as he did so. After reaching the top, he opened the hatch there and entered the tankette through the rather small hole, which was compared to other tanks a mouse hole. While he did so, his black sports bag was comfortably resting above him, but soon followed suit, as he pulled it down with him. Inside of the machine he looked around him, slowly turning his head, but carefully doing so, for he does not want to hit it somewhere and whereas doing so was very easy for an untrained irregular, he not only managed to not bump into some kind of electronic device or metal structure, Hermann also did so very swiftly, meaning that he finished the whole ordeal of looking around in record time. After checking all of the vitals and gun controls, the German moved his body towards the driver's seat. Carefully, but quickly doing so, he then found himself seated in it, only for him to continue his task from before. Right before him there was the main controls for it. Steering wheel in an enjoyable distance, pedals to his feet and the hand break to his right. The hand brake was not activated, wouldn't have made sense for Akashi to do so.

Not wasting any time at hands, Hermann pressed the staring button, reopened the front hatch, because he wanted to look cool or something, and pressed the pedal to the medal. The engine roared to life with his first motion, exuding a sound that should not be underestimated, for the Wiesel could do about 70 km/h n the road. When his right foot hammered down onto the accelerating pedal, the tracks began to move, and the Wiesel took off like you would expect from a tank. He accelerated quickly, since it was tracked a lot more of the raw power output could be transferred to the ground. The tankette raced down the pier where Hermann's bungalow was placed and sped on towards the soon to be decorated office building.

`` Yessssss! ´´, he exclaimed in a shifted tone, supposed to resemble a certain British entertainer from a well know cars show. `` If this thing would have been made from Jaguar, I could say that I am riding in a Jag and go full Jeremy Clarkson. ´´, he added, revealing who he was trying to impersonate. To spare any ears with his bad impressions, Hermann decided to stop this endeavour. But it didn't really stop him from speeding down the harbour. While he was doing so, one certain thought started to raise in his mind. He began to wonder about the absence of personnel. He had the same one back at night, but he was just assuming that no one was guarding here since the ship girls won't really need guarding. Does the same apply to the day? He hypothesized so and went one with his drive. The ship girls are probably doing some training right now or are on patrol. After checking out and decorating his office, he would eat something. Afterwards there is a supposed meeting with his fleet, but from his own experience he told himself not be expecting that everyone is going to be on time. But his thoughts are better being projected onto the road in front of him, which was not really a road, for he drove the Wiesel on a pier.

A few moments of undisturbed driving later, the German admiral arrived at the checkpoint, which he was able to vaguely remember from the stroll to his bungalow. Upon arriving a perplexed soldier looked at his craft, but as soon as he realized who was driving it, he just grunted and let him pass on. Hermann ignored this somewhat impolite gesture and went on with his not so long journey down into the naval base. In daylight the base made a whole different impression, being much warmer and more inviting, but then again, that is based on the feelings of someone who spends his free times on glaciers and calls them _warm and inviting_. Ignoring this jab at his side, he went on raising even more surprised stares at his entrance. `` A fucking sound system would be nice, then I could blast all of them away with gopnik hardbass. ´´, he muttered to himself.

Passing by a few buildings, which he etched into his mind, Hermann was on the way to his office. Taking a detour from the main road, he turned right with his vehicle in order to enter a side way that was just able to accommodate his tankette. After carefully turning and not damaging any of the buildings, Hermann arrived at his destination. But it was not the entrance of the office building where he now found himself. If he wanted to go there, he could have just driven a long the pier for one hundred metres and he would have been there. The reason why he took this detour was because of his Wiesel, parking a golf cart in front of the office building shouldn't have been problematic, but the Wiesel is a whole other thing. Therefore, he chose the option of the back entrance, a wonderful place where he could park the Wiesel without anyone complaining and even if they did, Hermann would just give them hell afterwards. Finalizing the procedure of properly arriving, he closed the front hatch, locked it from inside and lifted his body towards the hatch on top of the tank. Looking out of it, Hermann could see nothing spectacular, the only thing to brighten up the landscape where a few trash bins. Without any care in the world he grabbed the railings of the hatch and propelled himself with relatively tremendous force out of the tankette. Hermann landed without doing anything acrobatic on the front of the Wiesel, creating a thump sound upon impact. However, he managed to land on both feet without a tremble, furthermore he attached the sports bag beforehand to his ankle, allowing him to jump out with it. Last thing to do was of course to close the entrance hatch, which he quickly did after landing.

Finished with everything regarding the tankette, also properly locking it up, Hermann walked towards the back entrance of his office. Hand moved to doorknob and it happened what needed to happen, upon pressing it down the door didn't move an inch. An expression that represented absolute hatred and resentment started to from on his face as he realized something. He would need to search through the key ring again and spend minutes of precious time doing so. `` Fuck you. ´´, he muttered bitterly. So, his gruelling quest for the right key began a new, meaning that Herman will most likely be cursing until he finds the fitting one.

Many insults, both German and English later, Hermann finally was able to get his hands on the right key. After pushing it into the key hole and successfully turning it, Hermann found himself able to enter the building. He was greeted by a blank, grey room, something worth of his expectations as this is in all likeliness just a normal corridor. After walking it down, Hermann realised that he was the only one in the building, for he missed the distinct sounds that one could hear in an office, printing or the coffee machine for example. When he dared to look into one of the rooms, he was greeted by the image of staples upon staples of random junk, completely missing the things he was prone to see back home, like desks and different offices devices. Wandering on, however with a dumbfounded expression on the puzzled image that was once a face, the German Admiral suddenly spotted the stair way, which would probably lead him to his, hopefully not piled up, office room.

The stairs painted in the same kind of grey the hallway is, he did not find a change of pace and grew bored quickly, but since this was not some damned trek, he refrained from further cursing. The Admirals office is supposed to be in the first storey, somewhere at the right end of the hall corridor. After arriving in this proclaimed first storey, Hermann took the quickest route and walked hastily towards to the end of it. There he found entrance to a rather large room, which was, to his surprise, not littered and misused as a storing room. Additionally, it was completely empty, except for the necessary stuff like a large desk and cupboards of course. Moreover, Hermann could see that his working desk was not some kind of cheap Ikea product, it was rather made from mahogany wood. His gaze wandered to his left, where he spotted something interesting in his eyes corners upon entering. A couch. There was really a couch placed in this god-only-knows place. Has it always been there or did the other Admiral place it here after he chose this misused building as Hermann's office.

`` I am not going to concern myself with that now. Got some more important things to do, like decorating this desolated place. I need to make it a whole lot more inviting. To achieve this my sound system will be blasting thrash metal 24/7 and the faint smell of whisky will be trailing through the air like fucking chemtrails. But I should put the conspiracies away for now and stop keeping myself from wasting more time. ´´, he muttered to none other than himself.

Staying true his word, Hermann started the task and began by opening his sports bag. At first he heaved his not really heavy laptop out of the bag, than placed it on the mahogany desk, but while he did so Hermann was already tinkering about where he would store the whisky. Whisky is best stored at room temperature, meaning that some kind of display would be suitable, but since the office did not feature such luxury, he resolved the issue with choosing the desk as the whiskies humble resting place. Thought was followed up with action and he took the three bottles, still in their packaging, out of the bag and subsequently placed them on the desk. The sound system was pretty basic, but since he didn't get the chance to buy a proper one, it will have to make due until he gets the chance to visit the local shopping centre. Considering that he's in Tokyo that won't be that much of a problem. Next things were the pictures, which he brought with him.

While doing this simple task, Hermann began to mutter the refrain from one of his favourite songs: `` Reborn through hate…..fuck I don't know the lyrics….ahhhm Reborn through hate. ´´ After miserably failing at Coroners first albums title song, he accepted his loss and stuck with the melody of the song Nosferatu, coming from the same album. After he repeated the melody for a few minutes, he was done with locating good spots for the pictures and placing them on these spots.

`` So, now to the hard shit here… Where do I place my sword? That's a bit more difficult than some pics, not just because of the shape and form of it, but also because of the tone it is going to create. ´´, he looked around while muttering. `` Placing it on the desk would be interesting, but I would need some kind of socket for that and I only have a wooden plate with me right now, so it will be an on-wall mount, I guess. ´´

The search went on and he desperately looked for the perfect spot, his indecisiveness causing a time interval of ten minutes, which consisted of pure wastefulness. Therefore, Hermann decided to just say ``Fuck it´´ and he chose its resting place to be over the couch. Grabbing the board and the screws that were accompanying it, he walked over to the couch. But on his arrivals moment, he realized that he was missing a drill for the screws.

`` Wonderful. Simply wonderful….. ´´, he sighed: `` Well, I shall do it the hard way then. ´´

Placing the wooden board on the wall, Hermann prepared his soon to come action. Not wasting time that was already wasted, he took on of the screws and started to press it against the panel. He ensued with slowly pressing the screw with substantial force into the wood and then started to turn it, still keeping up the pressure. Hermann did this with the other screws to until all of them were in place, additionally his skill of improvisation came to use as he fixated the metal parts with a 2-cent piece. Luckily for him, the screws were not cross-sectioned, otherwise he would have really needed a screw driver, but like the drill this item did not find its way into the sport bag.

Now that the board was on the wall, he only needed to place the sword there, with which he quickly followed up. He grabbed the sword by its scabbard and carried over to the wall like it was his baby. Some things are very dear to him and this sword certainly is one of these items. With a quick motion, the blade and its black scabbard were being place onto the boarding and held firmly in place, despite Hermann's improvised craftsmanship.

`` Hope you will be attracting some gazes up there, beauty. ´´, he said out proudly with a stern, but smug grin on his face. `` When did I want to eat dinner? Ahh, doesn't matter. I am already finished, so it won't be a problem, if I were to go now. ´´

But before Hermann left the room, something sprung into his eye. Not an enemy craving for his demise, not an explosive device seeking out to dismember him. No, it was something different. Hermann's gaze wandered towards the door and his suspicion was confirmed, somebody had been watching him while uttered these words. Awkward to say at least.

Hermann sighed and said: `` Why won't you at least come out? After hearing me saying those things to a blade of all things, it can't get any stranger. ´´

The door creaked open, the person behind it following command. Hermann was now faced with the form of his voyeur. As he assumed it was indeed a ship girl that had been looking at him until now. She was relatively tall compared to a destroyer, so he started assuming, but in the end, she could have been everything. Throwing height besides, Hermann instantly took in her key features, them being long, green hair and some kind of school uniform. Definitely a ship girl, nobody in a naval base would wear something like that and after flaring up hi sensors, his assumption was proven correctly.

She was about to start the conversation, but Hermann, as he often tended to do, cut her off and said: `` So what brings you here? You know, you could have just knocked, and I would have even offered you a dram of whisky. ´´

`` Ahh geez, don't interrupt me… I was just about to explain. But since you are definitely unfamiliar to me here, I think that you are obliged to give some info first. ´´, she retorted.

`` Fine by me, name is Scipio and I am the new admiral here. Just finished decorating my office in this haunted house and now I was about to get something to eat, but it seems like someone was watching me. So did ya hear what I was saying to the sword? ´´

When Hermann said that he was the new admiral, the ship girl in front of him shuddered for a short moment, but soon after realizing that Hermann gave off a rather chilled look, she came back to her laid-back way of talking: `` Absolutely and to be honest I had to supress my chuckling, otherwise you would have probably noticed me earlier. ´´

`` I can imagine that, would have most likely done the same if I were to be in your shoes. Would you mind giving me your name then? I already introduced myself, so you should be follow suit. ´´

`` No problem, my name is Suzuya, third Mogami class Heavy cruiser. It is nice to meet you, admiral. ´´, she answered with an honest smile.

`` Nice to meet you too, Suzuya. Don't mind me asking, but what in the lord's name are you even doing here in this abandoned office? I found nobody working here, despite the building being an office, so what could you be doing here? ´´

`` Easy one, see the couch over there? ´´, she pointed over to it and Hermann followed the direction with his eyes, finding the couch above which he placed the sword. He nodded at her words and she continued: `` This couch has been here since a few months. When I once was bored and had nothing better to do, I entered this place to waste some time. So, after walking around for some time, I found this wonderful thing. This changed my daily routine in a dramatic way, believe me admiral, because since then I would be taking a nap here after morning routine. The best thing about this couch, is that you can sleep here without anybody getting a hint. ´´

Hermann began to chuckle after her explanation, reminding him of his school days where he would be sleeping on the school's desks from time to time. But as funny as this story was, it certainly created a problem, because now this room was Hermann's office and he would not tolerate someone sleeping in the room where he was working. Therefore, he had to confront the heavy cruiser head on and tell her the truth about the occasion: `` Well, I can understand from what you are coming, but this certainly causes a problem for both of us. Being blunt, this won't go on like it currently does. I am now working here, and I can't have someone sleeping here every day. ´´

Suzuya was not ready to accept this order, so she resorted to enter a stance of poutiness and retorted: `` Awww, admiral. I thought that you were cool and so…´´

`` Don't you dare giving me this stare, I double dare you to give me this stare. Putting the references aside for now, see this stereo over there? ´´, he pointed to his laptop and sound system. She nodded and affirmed seeing it. `` This thing isn't there for no reason at all, meaning that I will be blasting some metal from time to time and this could well be when you decide to take a nap here. So, I would recommend you find some other place to do some sleeping. ´´

`` Unfair! ´´, she exclaimed while thrusting her hands through the air.

`` Stop this and be reasonable. I get what you are feeling, but reality is not a fair place at all. ´´, he sighed and then got on: `` But I think that I can find a solution for this problem. ´´

With a sparse amount of hope, the ship girl looked at the foreign admiral and asked: `` Really? ´´

`` Sure, just take a room here. Most of them are just some kind of storage room, meaning that you can easily take a nap in there. ´´

Despite this being a logical solution, Suzuya expected more and therefore, after not being satisfied, replied: `` But I want this couch to sleep on! It is so nice, soft and comfortable! ´´

`` And I want to have a trillion dollars, but that won't be happening to. For now. But cutting it to a chase, just take one of those futons and bring them over there after clearing one of those rooms. ´´

`` You not only expect me to leave this couch, but also to tidy up?!´So unfaaaair! ´´, she shouted back at him, afterwards she crossed her arms and pouted more at him.

`` Calm down for now, you need jeebus! Did you expect me that I would be cleaning that room for you?! ´´, he replied.

`` Yes, of course! You are the admiral, it is your job to take care of us! ´´

`` Want me to wipe your ass, don't ya? Stop this ramble and move one for fucks sake, but fine I'll help you, but I won't be doing all of it. Fair deal, fifty-fifty I say, okay? ´´

`` Okay. I would have done it alone, but you are fun to tease, so I just had to act like this. ´´, she answered with a shit eating grin.

Hermann sighed at this development but accepted it nonetheless. In all honesty, he expected something like this, for she would have acted differently back then when he discovered her hiding. So, he joined her acting for his own amusement.

`` Well, certainly my fault then…. ´´, Hermann muttered to her. `` But as things are right now, I can whole heartedly postpone such undertakings and will now focus myself onto the task of acquiring a good meal. ´´, he said out on a somewhat boasting tone.

Suzuya rubbed her chin with her right hand and pondered for some time before she responded to Hermann's announcement: `` Since I would have eaten something after my nap, I give you admiral the chance of having me join your trip! ´´

Hermann chuckled at her laughter and shot a smile back at her: `` Fine by me, I definitely would have needed someone to show me around her anyways, so I will gladly take this chance! ´´

Getting the gist that she just inscribed her to be his guide for the rest of the day, Suzuya seemingly protested: `` Hey, hey, hey! I never said that! Don't take things out of context here! ´´

`` Unfortunate for you, good for me! Complaining about being tricked only makes you look like a hypocrite and will give you wrinkles, so spare us and your beauty. ´´, he retorted.

Suzuya grew seemingly red and a slight blush erupted on her face after the German admiral made his bold statement. `` H-heey…. ´´, she replied back quietly.

Hermann shook his head sideward and patted her on the shoulder while walking out of the room. Snickering a bit, he passed by her and upon contact he said: `` Buckle up, certainly not the first time somebody called you a beauty. ´´

Suzuya snapped out of her loose state, but not in a sense of regaining composure, but rather of shrieking and jumping up. Her blush grew even deeper and she hissed at the admiral in a not really threatening way. Hermann's laughing only made the situation worse, leading to having Suzuya gain a state of embarrassment. With every passing second, this cliché moment looked more and more like it was directly taken form an anime and Hermann who sometimes called himself a weeb for entertaining purposes found himself to be slightly amused by that, but the ship girl in front of him was certainly not, meaning that she would either harm him or say something interesting. Hermann hoped for the latter choice, for somewhat wanted her to say things like ``baka´´ directed at him.

But Suzuya is not stupid, but would she be able to see through his act? Can she determine the needed information in such a short time before he would get what he wanted? Things were in her odd, he showed to be somewhat geeky because of his sword, but could this correlate to anime? Hermann himself was thinking that she could do so, but he would not think bad of her for not knowing, since it was akin to guessing at this moment.

`` You idiot! ´´, she threw back at him in English, sadly not the ``Baka´´ he wanted to hear, but Hermann was still satisfied.

Her reaction drew a smug grin on his face and he replied: `` With pleasure, my dear! ´´

But her answer begged a different question all together for him, one that he should have asked himself from the time of his first conversation with Fusou. Why are they speaking English? He was not surprised by the Japanese admiral doing so, somehow expected him to do this out of politeness, even though the English was heavily accentuated. But at every instance up until now, the girls spoke fluent English to him, like they were native speakers.

But suddenly Hermann mentally laughed at himself for his folly. _Of course, they would._ At first a ship girl would be akin to a computer from a mental sense, meaning that they got language packages installed and English would therefore be the most viable. Hell, Hermann did the same and installed a Japanese pack before the got here, wondering why he didn't do so beforehand afterwards. Watching anime without subtitles would have been great, but stupid mistakes can happen to everyone. A German language pack could have been more advantageous for his arrival, but for reasons of not having the available time they probably did not create one.

Soon Hermann came back from his short trip into his mind, not from his own liking, but form Suzuya poking and asking him if he died from her cliché answer. At least she could crack jokes about herself, a likable trait from his point of view.

Hermann refocused and said hastily: `` Yeah, yeah. I am still there and not dead at all, even though your reaction was so cute. ´´

She saw through this intentional wording, patted him on the shoulder and gave him a short kiss on his cheek while leaving the room, basically doing the same he did to her, leaving out the other gesture. This time Hermann was actually at a loss of words, for he did not even expected something like this to happen. Her starting to ignore him or just being pissed off, but kissing? Albeit it was just a quick one on his cheeks, he was still dumbfounded to some degree, leading to him uttering something: `` Jesus Christ…. ´´

After saying that he found himself to be alone in the room, Suzuya already left it and he was still standing there like a goof. `` Better get going then, won't leave her waiting. ´´, he chuckled to himself as the left his somewhat decorated room and entered the barren wasteland that was the rest of the building. The ship girl was most likely already waiting outside, since her walking pace was quite fast while leaving, indicating that the move also took a toll on herself.

`` I am definitely going to place a fucking kitchen here somewhere. Not something improvised, a complete one, including a sink, stove and much more. A mini fridge in my office would also be something good, could not only store a few bottles of beer there, but also Conke and Bepis. Cool and good. ´´, he said and laughed at his bad memes while jogging to the exit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Christ what even is this, shorter this time but if I truly want to get the story going then I need to finish the world building somwhat quicker... Well i didn't go short on my words, just skip the shitty lemon if you want to. Otherwise, writting truly is a valuable distraction from some of the daily annoyances one has to deal with.**

 **Chapter Three: Fortune favours the beer**

Hermann left the building with haste, not daring to let the heavy cruiser wait for him. Punctuality is one of his most important principles, if there is a date for a meeting, you are obliged to strictly uphold it, anything else is unacceptable. Staying true to his words, the German bypassed the stuffed office rooms and went for the main exit this time, guessing that there would be no reason for Suzuya to leave through the back door. Additionally, his decision was also influenced by the fact that he actually locked up the back entrance shortly after he entered, which meant Suzuya would have needed to kick the door in and Hermann somewhat doubted this. Otherwise he would have probably heard at least something coming close to a bump sound, but for he did not, Suzuya had certainly left normally.

Therefor he was not surprised when he found the ship girl somewhere at the entrance of the building, though he was somewhat flabbergasted about her precise position. Instead of neatly waiting in front of the main door, Suzuya pretty much hid herself from public view, also she somehow did not realize that the admiral now stood besides her. One could not imagine her expression when Hermann than proceeded to tip her onto the shoulder. She practically jumped from earth to moon and let out a high shriek.

Afterwards she turned around, an embarrassing look downing on her face as she looked the Admiral into the face, who just greeted her with a smug grin and a ``Hello there. ´´

`` Wh-what are you do-doing? ´´, she asked him with a but of stutter, but compared to right before she had grown a pair.

`` Don't know, getting you out of your hiding place maybe. But what where you even doing here? ´´, he asked curiously.

`` T-that i-is n-not important…. ´´, she said a bit shyer.

`` Fine, my hunger is keeping me from asking more. ´´, his comment created a surprised look in her face. `` Know a good place here? I only looked at the map briefly and can't remember it quite well. ´´, he said while scratching on the back of his head, but his words were those of a lie, for his computer-brain hybrid can pretty much memorise everything if needed.

Suzuya saw this as a chance to turn the tables and did so: `` Hmmm, shouldn't a good admiral be knowledgeable about his working place? ´´ A grin grew on her face as she said so.

`` Probably, but I never saw myself as a 'good admiral' in an orthodox way. I tend to handle things from a different approach. So, stop wasting time and get going, beauty! ´´, he exclaimed.

Suzuya reacted like he had intended, and she practically repeated the scene from before, when he had touched her. But now she added the action of trying to get him to shut up with her hands, but he stopped them mid-air and asked: `` Hey, hey! That is pretty rough, isn't it? ´´

`` Arghhh, shut it! If someone finds here me with you calling me a beautiful and so they will come up with stupid gossip! ´´, she retorted, her arms crossed over her chest.

`` Fine, fine, I get what you are talking about. Back in school gossiping wrecked my nerves too and I ended up punching someone for doing so. ´´, he talked back.

`` Hmpph…. ´´, being the only sound that came from her as a reaction, his words only brought mild success, but even the iciest things will melt up somewhen and Suzuya added, after having been looked at apologetical by Hermann: `` Fine, the next best place to get something is definitely Mamiya's. She is a support ship girl, who is additionally running a restaurant here. While the other naval personnel prefer the cantina, since it is cheap, we girls usually go to her place. ´´

`` Fine by me, got nothing to say, so let's get going then. ´´, Hermann added, before both of them took off.

The walk over to Mamiya's restaurant was rather uneventful, only passing by a few ship girls which the pair quickly greeted but said nothing more. From Hermann's office building one would walk along the harbour, with the sea to their left, until the reached an area which seemed to be one of those for recreational purposes, with some trees and so, but in this place, it was more like a beach. After staying on track for one hundred meters one would eventually reach said restaurant.

While they walked, Suzuya and Hermann talked about mundane things like hobbies. He told her of his appreciation for Whisky and swords, while she told him a bit about her, most of it being girly things which Hermann commented with things like ``cool´´, ``good´´ and ``niece´´. That meant, for those not aware, he was not really so interested in such things, but for the sake of politeness and since she probably wasn't too interested into swords, he listened carefully. Afterwards he got to hear some bits about her sister Kumano and that, since he like swords, he should find the light cruiser Tenryuu. Shortly after they arrived at the place and entered through the main door.

The first thing Hermann noticed was the smell in the air, which was an excellent fragrance of freshly cooked food. Then he looked around, seeing many tables for the customers and some kind of bar, where two girls were sitting right now. Finding a table was the next thing on their agenda, but they were interrupted by a loud and shriek voice calling them over. `` Hey! Admiral! Come over here! ´´

Hermann turned to the origin of the yelling and found Sendai, the light cruiser obsessed with night battles, sitting at a table with two other ship girls, probably her sisters, for they had the same type of clothing as her. Hermann waved back at them with his right hand, but his greeting was interrupted by the quiet voice of Suzuya, who whispered to him: `` You know the Night Battle Idiot? ´´

`` That nickname is on point, really. But to answer your question, yes. I met her in the night when I walked back to my bungalow after I had taken a small stroll around the harbour. ´´, he replied.

`` Who would have thought that, meeting her at night. She's a bit annoying, absolutely obnoxious about those damned night battles. ´´, Suzuya said back.

`` It can't be that bad, I mean yeah she talks too much about them, but I have met more annoying people. ", Hermann whispered back.

Suzuya sighed: `` That might be so, but to be fair, you haven't had to deal with her antics until now. A few days ago, she made so much noise in the night, I couldn't close an eye. The fact that my room in the cruiser dorm is directly opposite from hers is just making the situation direr. ´´ she frowned at her own words.

`` Fine, fine. Sounds reasonable and all, but it would paint a bad image of me, if I were to just freaking ignore her. Listen, if it is as bad as you are telling me and that girl annoys the crap out of you, then I will just tell them a lie or so, something about you still having things to do or so. ´´

Suzuya shook her head at his words and added: `` No, no. I think you are misinterpreting some things here, I don't hate her, she's just a bit annoying sometimes. ´´

Replying with an understanding nod, Hermann continued to walk towards the table where Sendai and her sisters were sitting. Coming closer to them, he raised his voice: `` Hello there. How is it going? ´´

`` Perfectly fine admiral, despite the current lack of night battles! ´´, Sendai replied in her upbeat voice.

One of the other girls, having longer hair than her supposed sisters added in a timid voice: `` Please, sir forgive my sister for this impolite behaviour. Since she came home late in the night and had to get up early, she drunk coffee, but accidently brewed it to strong…. ´´

`` Girl, don't sweat it, I can't treat ya like normal soldiers, wouldn't be appropriate for the situation. Most of you are representing teenage girls and probably have teenage problems, meaning that if I were to treat you like trained soldiers, both parties won't come far. ´´, he answered, but as he talked about them mostly being teenagers, Suzuya seemingly misunderstood his words as something akin to him believing that they are all children. Therefore, she pinched him in the side with stealthy moves, but Hermann kept his cool and wasn't even fazed by it.

`` He's right, Jintsu! Don't think so much about, while the other admiral was a total robot, he seems to be a chill dude! ´´, she looked at him: `` Aren't you? ´´

`` Despite my rage sessions that I sometimes have after playing to much EU4 or through the apparent lack of alcoholic beverages, I am as chill as possible. Just don't mess things up and I can be your best friend. ´´

This time Sendai interrupted: `` See, nothing to worry here! I met him last night and had a nice talk with him about night battles. ´´

After the reassuring words from both girls, Jintu's anxiety died down and she became much calmer. While this process of soothing took place, both Suzuya and Hermann took a seat and joined the three girls at the table. After seating down, Hermann was surprised by the rapid response of service, which they got from the kitchen. In quick sequence two cards for the menu were added to the three that were already there by a young girl, presumably a ship girl. She greeted them shortly afterwards but said that since the restaurant was currently in rush hour and she was deeply sorry that she could give them an appropriate service. Hermann then waved his hand at her, reassuring her to not worry about such things.

`` So, now that all of us are sitting here, we could do some formal introducing. I already now Sendai here, but both of you are still strangers to me. While I know that your name is Jintsu. ´´, he pointed at her: `` A formal introduction is better to round things up. ´´, Hermann spoke.

Before Jintsu could reply to his direct invitation to start things here, her sister cut her off and was the first one to begin: `` Good day, Admiral! My name is Naka, Sendai class light cruiser and idol of the combined fleet! ´´ Her upbeat tone having more ears join the conversation than needed.

Hermann chuckled at those words, for he would have never thought that there would be so much anime influence in this project. But Hermann tended to call himself a _proud degenerate_ when he was being confronted by his colleagues about his reasons for not going out and fishing a girl.

Next one up was Hermann's intended beginner for the introduction Jintsu. He wanted her to start, since that would have needed much more courage from her than to start from the second position. Shy people can be towed from their holes if they must reach a certain threshold. If positively reassured at that moment, the tend to grow out of their unproductive behaviour of holding back. A soldier who cannot think for himself and is devoid of any spine before his officers is likely to crack under too much pressure. He applied the same methods to Fusou, but in her case they had to be modified for the situation.

Next on the row was the shy toned Jintsu: `` Ww-ell, a-hmm my n-name is J-jintsu of the same class. It is nice t-to meet you admiral. ´´ She uttered those words with a low and rather silent voice.

`` Then I am the last to do so. My name is Scipio, just Scipio the latter name is a secret, so don't even ask. As you probably know I am a foreign admiral from the New German Empire or Neues Deutsches Reich if you prefer the original term. If you like you can also choose one of my nicknames like Drinking Problem Hermann or Sir Drink-a-lot, but if someone here calls me Göring for fun I will be at your throats, so remember it very well. As most of you have already seen, I tend to be a rather chill guy, who is not so much interested in formalities, for actions speak louder than words. Nevertheless, there is some level of basic respect, which I still want from my subordinates like not insulting me head on or refusing to follow orders. ´´, he said with an assertive tone.

`` Drinking Problem Hermann? Where did that come from? ´´, Sendai asked.

`` Well just like some people tend to call you things because of your fondness for night battles, people started to call me this wonderful name for some of my drinking quirks. The name in itself does not sound like something I should be fond of , more like an insult, but since it is pretty much the truth I can heartily laugh about it. ´´

With a short frown Sendai replied to his statement about her tendencies in concern with night battles, but Suzuya on the other hand was furthermore interested in another thing he just uttered, so she asked: `` What quirks are you talking about? ´´

He put two fingers on his chin an thought for a bid, then after thorough consultation, Hermann answered: `` Well, for once I start most of my days with the saying _Ds wichtigste in da fria is a bia_ , meaning as much as the most important thing in the morning is a beer, but the saying makes more sense in Austrian or Bavarian German, were you tend to shorten words in a dialect-style, which in this special case makes both fria and bia rhyme with one another. Otherwise all of you will certainly see my antics of successive alcohol consumption throughout the day, for I always carry a few bottles with me and there will certainly be some respective amounts in my home or office. If one of you want to chug down one or two, or even more, just pay me a visit. ´´

This time Jintsu spoke up with her timid voice, while her face gave of a worried look: `` Ah-ahm admiral, isn't excessive alcohol consumption dangerous? ´´

Hermann waved his hand in a gestural manner at her and replied: `` This is just what the Green Party wants you to believe, don't heed their teachings and believe in the holy Spiritus. ´´

`` What's the Green Party, admiral? ´´, Naka questioned.

Hermann's tone shifted from happy to annoyed and he retorted: `` Inconsistent fucks, who wanted nothing more than to destroy the fatherland… ´´ He scratched his, getting aware of his sudden change of behaviour and corrected himself: `` Sorry, I was getting political, but there are some issues to which I can not react fondly. So, we shall introduce a new rule beside the one with calling me Göring, don't mention the Green Party, for I have some personal issues with them, besides the ideological ones. But we should change the topic now, there are menu cards in front of us and we haven't even ordered. ´´

All followed suit and looked into their menus, carefully studying them. While he read it, Hermann was surprised by the variety of the meals that they served. Instead of just Japanese meals, being what he expected, they offered a wide array of international cuisine. But that was not what actually really impressed him, since he liked Asian cuisine, but rather the fact that they served German beer. He only had heard bad things about Asian countries and their beer standard until now and while some breweries here certainly make good beer, the commercial ones mostly consisted of Heineken or some other cheap shit. One must imagine the glee, which he wore when he read this line of text: Franziskaner Bräu. Even in fucking German.

`` Yeeesss. ´´, this sound was uttered akin to a famous British moderator, who is mostly known for him being in a car show. The sudden shift in tone attracted the attention of Suzuya, quickly adding: `` What was that, I think I heard an old man? ´´

`` Implying that I am old shit? Really, I expected more form you, but that is just weak. Additionally, the angle like tone of Jeremy Clarkson's voice is eternally beautiful. ´´

`` Who is Jeremy Clarkson? ´´, Sendai asked.

Hermann just sighed and implied his emotions of displeasure with a tactical face palm and grunting. `` All unaware of this mastermind? ´´

They nodded at his question, visually displeased Hermann said: `` Good, since this will most likely be the standard of the common knowledge around here, I will try to find time for an educational movie night, were I will show all of you the best Tv show on earth. ´´ He shifted his tone and went on: `` Well, back to the real reason why I just uttered this trademark saying. They really serve Franziskaner Bräu here? Never would have imagined this. ´´

This time around Suzuya took the reins in her hands and was ready to answer him: `` Ah yes, some of the carriers and battleships once went out and somehow got to try this brand, since than the pleaded Mamiya here to add it to her inventory and a month or so ago she followed up. ´´

`` That is incredibly nice! Now I can sip on of my freaking favourite beers here, simply wonderful! ´´, Hermann exclaimed with a bright and shining face.

In the meantime, Naka whispered to Jintsu: `` His acting somehow compares to Sendai's… ´´

Jintsu nodded at her statement and the awkward theme around Hermann's exclamations continues until the waitress from before returned asking them if they have already chosen something. Since he was rather entranced into the fact that they served one of his favourite beer brands here, Hermann was not really able to study the menu in an efficient way, therefore he ended up just ordering a simple hamburger with French fires and a big tankard of the Franziskaner Bräu. Next to go were the three sister Sendai, Jintsu and Naka. To Hermann's surprise all of them ordered the same thing, curry and a glass of water. Following this show of sisterly love was Suzuya, surprising Hermann a second time with her order, which was exactly the same as his dish. She didn't even bother to properly voice her order, she just uttered a confident ``the same as his´´.

The sudden changes of pace created a smile on Hermann's face and his expression changed to a curious setting. He looked at her with this gaze and asked: `` How much alcohol can you drink before going haywire? Had any experiences before or could this maybe just be to show off? ´´

Suzuya playfully answered: `` Hmmm, are you doubting me? Let me tell you that I am quite resilient, and the rough things don't really bring me down… But, before you worry about others, I think, that our admiral here should watch out for himself to not get burned.. ´´

Hermann uttered several chuckles at this turn of events, the girl really thought that she could sow the seed of uncertainty in his heart, but the foreign admiral should not be taken lightly. In his past he had to deal with such notorious people on many occasions, even if they were abyssal ships. So he was about to send something back to her, but the other notorious person in the room interrupted them: `` Food is coming. And please get a room, both of you! ´´

Different reactions followed, Suzuya became quite red, slowly becoming more and more aware of her actions and that maybe she should do things like these in private with the admiral. Jintsu showed the expected reaction of blushing and mumbling around, while her sister ship Naka called both Hermann and Suzuya perverts. But his reaction was definitely the most vivid one, a loud exclamation of laughter. Not just a semi-loud, a bit obnoxious tone, which you could expect to her in restaurants from time to time, no, it was about two levels above that one. Even if nobody had seen him enter until that moment, right now all of them would be aware of his presence. Nearly matching the audial power of a metal concert on the decibel scale, the German propelled his sound waves of constant and consistent laughter through the room. While most of the ship girls just looked away, for they were accustomed to these scenarios, a few grew irritated, but still kept themselves from complaining. But before anything close to a major confrontation could happen, Hermann calmed himself down and cheerfully awaited his food, for it was soon to come.

`` I get that it was funny, but why were you laughing to such a degree. ´´, asked Suzuya after regaining some spirit.

`` Sorry, but that is a top-secret insider only a few chosen will ever be able to laugh about. ´´, he said while he swept away his literal crocodile tears. Not complacent with the answer, Suzuya puffed her cheeks and turned away.

Hermann was about to attack her with some stupid comments, but the arrival of the waitress and the food interrupted him. _Jeebus, that was fast, he thought._ Cutting short any notions, in front of him a plate with his meal was placed. The beer followed up quickly and in a robot-like fashion, the waitress was able to serve the, five meals with one go. After leaving the place, the three Sendai-class ships clapped their hands together and ejected a quick ``Itadakimasu´´, having watched enough anime to understand this gesture and enough Hentai to misinterpret it, he followed up with a `` Mahlzeit ´´, the German meal-chant. Suzuya was the last to add up, but not due to impoliteness, but rather to her being flabbergasted by the three sisters perfectly timed chant. The rest of the dinner was rather uneventful and was concluded with a few jabs here and there. Hermann offered to pay for everyone and after convincing them with his level 100 speech craft skill, that he certainly had enough money to do so, all of them compiled and he was finally able to hand over the money.

After leaving the restaurant, Sendai, Naka and Jintsu left the group and wished both of them a good bye, which wouldn't be long since all of them will meet up in about half an hour when he Hermann's official introduction is going to take place.

`` Ahh, yess I will probably need to leave now to, otherwise Kumano will be annoyed with me. ´´, she said to him after the others recently parted ways.

`` Sure, go ahead. I don't want you to get into to trouble or anything, won't be long until you can see me again, beauty! ´´, Hermann compiled while walking away and waving her a good bye. Main reason of this action was his wording and as he planned his move of calling her ``beauty´´ showed similar reactions to his former efforts. Therefore, the heavy cruiser took off with throwing an ironic insult at him and left the place. After all events concluded, Hermann found himself to be alone again, but since he actually longed for some solo time in order to not completely ass-pull the introduction Herman still had to make, he did not mind it. But before he could do anything coming close to the state of preparing a speech, a sudden phone call interrupted his soon to be started thought process. This time it was not on the specially issued phone from Gespensterdivision, but on his personal smartphone.

`` Jesus Christus, who is calling me now? ´´, Hermann muttered around, visually showing off his annoyance. But instead of wasting any more time with senseless cursing, he accepted the call and moved the phone to his artificial ears. The number that should normally be displayed on the screen wasn't even there, increasing Hermann's anger since this could very well mean that someone was trying to pull a prank on him.

`` Yes, Hermann here. What can I do for you? ´´, he said dryly.

A slightly distorted voice, which was still recognisable to be of female origin replied: `` Meet me on the crane on which you stood last night. ´´ The call ended.

`` Fuck. ´´, he uttered. _This should not have been possible, how in the name of god was someone able to see me?! Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Okay, cool down right now. Couldn't have been a ship girl, since they shouldn't not have any way of getting my number. Not only did she stalk me while I was on the crane, she was also able to somehow get my private number. And again, I made mistakes, which could have been prevented from happening. This person was either stalking me with the usage of a stealth device or was too far away for my sensors to recognize her signature as problematic. God dam it, I can't freaking believe how careless I tend to get when not in combat….._

`` Jetzt reichts mir! Ich kriege gleich alle Zustände! ´´, Hermann blurted out, but luckily for him he had already moved to a more hidden location, namely behind the restaurant. `` You know what? 30 minutes I got, I will not prepare a speech or so, no no no! ´´, he pulled out his second phone, the smartphone still in his right hand:`` So, let's look from where that misfortunate soul was calling me…´´, he mumbled while he connected both phones with each other via a power cable. Within moments of connection, the other phone flared to life and three quick options were being presented to Hermann. The first one was to cleanly delete everything from the other phone, second one to initiate a self-destruct by overwriting the shut off codes for overheating and the third option was the one Hermann was interested in, since it was a tool for locating phones. This tool worked by analysing the wavelength and frequency of the caller's signal and then redirecting it to the fitting satellite in orbit. This satellite would then be targeted by one of the signal stations back in Germany, which are analysing the signals that were being sent up from the surface of the earth. If the correct signal was caught, it would be redirected by a simulation made by a quantum computer. Afterwards one could theoretically get the location from which it was sent. But there are still two big ifs, the first one was that in order for the signal stations to get knowledge of the targeted signal, a sensor must have been placed in the area, but luckily for Hermann the C-17 Globemaster, which was still parking somewhere at the airport was carrying one of those sensors. The second "if" could practically destroy all of his plans for sudden revenge, certain conditions had to be meet for it to work. The most important one is the actual location of the target, for if she were to have moved around after making the call, the simulation would only give said location.

But Hermann prayed for that not to be true, he wanted to mob her or them up and throw of some anger. So, he pressed the button and waited for some moments, after roughly thirty seconds he got his intel and if he were to have sat on a chair, he would have been propelled down from it. He couldn't believe his eyes, the revelation only served to increase his anger, for the call came from the naval base. `` You are kidding me, right? You really mean that some freaking ship girl watched me? Scheißdreck! That can't be true…. ´´, he sighed after exploding quickly: `` And if it is, this base will have one girl less…´´, he laughed like a maniac while uttering these words. Not only was he pissed off, but his urge to kill and to cause bloodshed was simultaneously called into being with this ridiculous exposure.

With a spurt he took off, heading for said location. It was a building farther off from the main complex, but if he were to jog quickly, Hermann could reach it in five minutes. To the meeting point he would need about ten minutes, running through crowded territory could look rather weird, so he won't do it. That means one thing in particular, fifteen minutes is the time limit. `` Not nearly enough for the normal hardcore shit, but this will have to suffice. ´´

Speeding on through more desolate areas of the base he made his way towards the building of his desire, where he would finally take out some of his anger. Meter by meter, second by second passed by and he quickly reached it, needing only four minutes, since he started to sprint shortly ago. Infiltration was the next part, but Hermann was not in the mood for this. He flared up his sensors to the highest level and read one signature. If that wasn't the person he was looking for, who else?

Hermann licked his lips and gently opened the door, there would be no stalking from afar, only combat. After entering the room and adjusting his ocular sensors, he identified the room as a computer lab, meaning that she codded the signal here, but since his detectors worked by analysing the sent signal and since it was transmitted by normal modulation, it was not problematic to track. He drew his bowie knife and walked forward in a frolic way, giving of the image of a real psychopath.

`` So you came? That is quite the good tech you have in your arsenal. ´´, a voice spoke.

`` Hohoh, the lamb comes to its butcher then? But yes, we have good tech for those kind of things, however the notion of you doing it on purpose is not being driven out of my mind. Pray tell, where you doing that with full intent? ´´

`` Certainly, I deeply longed for you to actually find me… ´´, she purred at him.

Unfazed by her more seductive tone, Hermann was about to ask another question, but she cut him off with a quick attack and a well-aimed strike from her blade. He stopped it with his knife only inches away from his face, but still, even in a situation like this he broke out a chuckle: `` Oh, so you are more the violent one, aren't ya? ´´

Again, a laugh similar to a full-blown maniac erupted, but this time not from the mad man Hermann, but from the local psycho this woman seemed to be. Laughter was not the only answer, she continued her assault with the sword in her hands, changed her stance quickly and lifted the thing over her head. What followed was a swift and heave down-ward cut, the power coming from these blows were certainly superhuman, Hermann noticed this when the blade continuously clashed against his and he felt a stronger backlash than when he sparred with soldiers. _A mutant then, not a ship girl, her signature is too human for that to be the case._

`` Come on my dear, show me more of this fire! ´´, Hermann taunted her, trying to end the fight quickly with a well-placed feint. _This will only be a short skirmish._

`` Of course, darling! ´´, she shouted back at him.

 _Jesus Christus, god no._

The speed behind her attacks increased twice, she rushed him and began a series of quick slashes, intending to cut the man down. It took about one hundredth for the first hit to make its way to Hermann's face, but the German was well accustomed to such attacks and therefore he was quite easily able to parry the blade with his bowie knife. Still on the defence, another slash made its way towards Hermann, after the first blow was directed away, she quickly redrew her blade and this time aimed the tip at him. But instead of thrusting the blade at him, she changed directions in the last moment and redirected the blade to a course, which faced the blade to his left lower abdomen. But moves like these were normal in sword fighting and Hermann who was very proficient in it, read the move the moment when he saw that the supposed thrust was slightly off. So, in order to use this situation for his sake, the German devised a quick plan in his mind. When the blade would be about five centimetres from the real target, he would charge energy in his legs and go for a power jump. When in airborne he would deliver an axe kick to her side.

So, when the blade then came in, he followed suite and took off. The woman in his opposite was surprised by this move, but not to a degree where she was completely thrown of her horse. She expected him to attack now and when Hermann's left shin came racing towards her, she raised the hilt of her blade and blocked the impact, but just as he expected her to change directions when thrusting, he again read his opponent earlier on and threw the left-sided axe kick as a ruse. When she deflected it, the woman left the rest of her body wide open. Taking advantage of this he directed a respectable amount of inner energy into his right leg and threw it at her left side.

This time she was really surprised, not by the hit itself, for she mentally prepared herself for it to come as she realised that she just fell into a trap, but rather due to the force behind the blow. When the leg collided with her it felt like a truck hitting her head on, but times ten and condensed to the surface area of a shin. Her body was thrown off by tremendous kinetic forces and she was being propelled at the wall to her right, in which she promptly crashed into. Upon impact all machineries, which stood there were completely trashed by the impact, the thick concrete-steel wall behind her carving in for more than half of its thickness.

Hermann landed own both of his feet and looked at the picture of destruction that he helped to create. Destroyed machinery, dust and debris from the wall everywhere and said wall in shambles was what he saw. If this scene would have been from a movie, the German would now get sure of his victory and become unwary, then in the next moment the woman would emerge from the debris to impale him with her blade. But this here is not a movie and Hermann fought many battles prior to this and even made the mistake from underestimating his opponent in combat, but to her misfortune these times were over. So he forcefully played the role of the unwary mong and promptly got attacked by the female assailant, but instead of achieving his defeat, Hermann's strengthened hand grabbed the blade down its tip and delivered another powerful kick. This time it went square into her chest area, but when she was about to get kicked away again, he reached out for her right hand and pulled her closer, he did this so that the backward-force generated from the kick would have to be taken by her body instead of the already battered wall.

With her way of escape being halted by Hermann, all of the recoil that was put into her body was being forced onto her, the forces of inertia taking a toll on it. while this would not be nearly enough to take her out, it gave the German two valuable advantages. The first one is that she will be paralyzed for a short time, giving him many options to finish her off. The second one, having physical contact with her, gave him in combination with factor one a perfect chance for a finisher, but Hermann did not follow up with one. Killing her off now would not sate his hunger for blood, which he had to endure for so many weeks now. The last mission, where he could let loose was long gone and since then he had to supress every urge of lashing out at someone. What he did now was grabbing her at the collar and pressing her body to the ground. His right leg was shifted between hers and he pressed her down with his own weight. She wouldn't escape, she was under his whim.

`` Let's have some fun then…. ´´, he muttered with a psychotic smile on his face.

`` Of course darling! ´´, his opponent replied in a cheerful voice.

Hermann looked at her in a perplexed way. This was bad for him, very bad. If she is bluffing this one here he would need to break her, which would take a lot more time than he had. If she liked being dominated and was a full-blown masochist, Hermann would only get half of the satisfaction he lurked for. He was not interested in just being dominating and sadistic, no, he actively wanted to harm someone, both physically and mentally. What added to the worse was the wet spot he felt rubbing against his knee. It was not piss, otherwise the stench of ammonia would have gotten into his nose, the girl was really wet then. Meaning that she was a masochist. Wonderful.

Upon closer inspection Hermann took in her features, she had long and black hair, which was kept very clean and straight down her back. Her eyes were a deep and dark blue, darker than the normal human blue, indicating her mutant origins. He moved on to her clothing that was unsurprisingly ripped apart at a few spots from the battle. Her dress was akin to a uniform, only that it lacked the lower parts where she wore a black, middle long skirt. The top was a navy blue and adorned with golden lines. Additionally, she wore thighs, also in black. All in all, a real beauty, Hermann thought so too.

```Are you going to rape me like that abyssal ship girl, darling? ´´, she asked him, hitting Hermann straight with the question.

He coiled back a bit, how did she know that? This happened months ago during a mission on Kamchatka, where he was being pressed into a tight situation by abyssal forces. In order to combat them, he activated Pleasure to Kill and wreaked havoc, in the end one abyssal battleship survived and he pleasured himself with her already wounded body. In the end she even managed to survive that and was brought back to Germany. Research on her did not prove to be difficult, every time she refused to do something, the threatened her with him and she shut up. But, this did not give him any indication for her knowledge about that, for he knew every member in the R&D department and there wasn't a Japanese woman amongst them. _But wait, there was something to that mission which let her stand out from the others in Russian Territory…. That's it! Later on, it became a joint operation with the Japanese Empire! While I took out this particular base, our special forces team was accompanied by some Japanese squad. The finished early the mission earlier than expected, which lead to one of the more eager members of the Japanese forces to take off and head to my location. Now I know, she found me while I was raping that abyssal and…. Ahh yess, she was taken back a bit, but afterwards asked to join. Well, I agreed, and things got only messier from then on. Her name is Homura, she never gave me her full name, saying that only her first name is needed when I talking to her. She is supposedly in a pretty high position, so I guess there is no killing time._

Hermann sighed: `` Jesus Christus, Homura, if you had told that you were calling me than this shit here didn't need to happen. I am on tight schedule right now, meaning that I ain't got time for your shenanigans. ´´

She began to laugh hysterically and replied in a joyful voice: `` Darling, it wouldn't have been fun otherwise. But seriously I want you now! Don't you have some spare time for me, your future and eternal wife, here? ´´

Another sigh. `` What? You are you still spouting this nonsense? Cease it and give it up! I will never let myself be weighed down by the shackles of a relationship, a marriage even less. These bids are made in vain! But if you want a quickie, I can certainly give it to ya, despite the short time limit. I had to hold back the juice for quite some while now and if I can't find something to relieve it upon, I'll be going crazy! ´´

At first she pouted at him, this was the third time he rejected her. First time was after the molestation of the abyssal, second time when she visited him in Germany. Back then she had shorter hair and her eye colour was also different for some reason, so he didn't recognize her on first sight here.

 ***Warning crap incoming***

But when he agreed to her other proposal, the one for quick and hard sex, she started to gleam, looking at him with the most thrilled gaze someone could make. Hermann did not go short on his words and grabbed her wholesome like a princess. He looked around and found a fitting table, where he bent her over lifted up her skirt. He forced down her thighs, revealing her white panties which were trenched in her vaginal secretes.

`` That tickles.. ´´, she purred at him.

`` Well, that's just the beginning. I am going to do a lot more things then ``tickling´´, but sadly we can't go all out here, for I have about seven minutes left or so. Therefore, this whole ordeal here will probably just a quickie. ´´, Hermann replied.

`` It saddens me that you can't bring up more time for me….. ´´, she added in a pouting tone.

`` I am sorry, but as I am currently working as an admiral and this military position is more than your run of the mill soldier rank, I haver other things to do. Many, if I might add. But I will certainly have some free time in the following days and then we can go one hundred percent if that is okay for you.´´

She nodded at his proposal and followed up with an even more seductive look in her eyes. Meanwhile Hermann pulled down her panties, revealing her unprotected vital parts. Taking a good look at it, Hermann saw the ripe, pink flesh of her vagina for which he currently lusted for. Everything was cleanly shaved and looked like it was taken straight out from a porn, to good to be true. Next up was his thing, he pulled down pants and boxers with one quick swoop and his dick sprang to life like Lazarus after was touched by Jesus. Despite being a cyborg, Hermann still had his sexual organs and even if that wouldn't have been the case after he was constructed, Hermann would have taken things into his own hands in order to get one.

He took it into his right hand and slowly directed the tip towards Homura's pussy, then when all things were aligned he thrusted in a slow manner and entered her womanhood. She let out a small, but passionate moan when he did so and coiled back for a bit. Herman took advantage and thrusted forward with full power, letting her pussy swallow his dick wholesome. Then he began to cock for and back, fulfilling her and his desire for quick sex. He increased his intensity, for he knew that Homura usually takes long to please, but since he had no time at all for games, he had to get the most of it now. Therefore, he slapped her on her right ass cheek as it was currently facing him after he bent her over the table on which placed her. This time the intensity of her moans grew stronger and he followed up with more spanking. This went for one minute or so, then Homura uttered: `` Turn it *ahh* up! ´´ Exclamations were accompanied by moans and Hermann was keen to follow suit, so he used his left hand to push her down with full force, resulting in Homura's whole body being practically immobilised from his strength.

`` Ahhh, yes that is it darling! Come on *aahh*, if you don't have so much *ahh* time than step up the game!´´, she shouted at him, her voice not being straight up, but a mess in its own.

`` Of course, I'll show you what I got, so prepare yourself! ´´, he replied in all eagerness. To follow up his words the velocity of his movements practically doubled, and his dick reached into the depths of Homura's womb. Then, with the new-found speed he turned her around, his hands no longer occupied with her butt and back, found their way towards her throat. Since he knew that Homura liked really hard sex, he began to choke her. Tears began to form around her eyelids, but not because of pain, but from joy, in this case joy from pain though. He went on with his speed, a smile forming on his face, for he finally received something for which he longed for and that for quite some time up until now. Yes, he could've done it to Fusou too, but since that one occasion where one of his friends laid a drunken one and got into some problems because of that afterwards, he took up the oath of not banging a drunken girl which he barely knew. But as things are right now the girl in front of him wanted it all and he gave it to her.

Looks of pleasure filled both of their eyes respectively, he was close to it now, Homura's orgasm that is. This lead to him stepping up the game even more, Hermann added the next layer of strength and her respiration became even more rugged. She in return clamped down his penis, practically sucking it in with her vagina. The ordeal and the thrusting went on.

`` Ahhhhh, y-yes I-i-iam coming! ´´, she bellowed through the room.

`` That's it! ´´, he added.

Reaching the tipping point, Hermann felt her vagina tensing up with every moment and subsequent thrust, he opted for more depth and reached beyond the points which he pushed before. His tip smashed into her womb and he let loose. A thick stream of his cum was being shot from his dick and filled her up. Then she let out the loudest moan up until, signalling her intense orgasm. Hermann let loose of her throat and she began to pant immediately afterwards.

`` Tha-than-k y-you… ´´, she uttered in somewhat broken words.

Hermann on the other hand pulled out his dick from her vagina and looked for something to clean his private parts up a bit as they were still drenched in a mixture of her secretes and his cum. He desperately looked around, but couldn't seem to find anything that would be of use. He was about to choose office paper as a viable option when the girl, who up until now was exhausted from the intercourse, rose up and handed him over her panties, which were still somewhat clean, despite being trenched in her body fluids.

 ***Ended***

`` Ahh, thank you, otherwise things would have gotten even dirtier here. But seriously, thank you're the opportunity, for I had to pent up these urges for quite some while up until now. Compared to the girl you were some time ago, I can clearly see that you have not lost an ounce of the charm that you had in the bed months ago, so if you think the same, we can do this again. ´´, he replied while he dried up his penis with the not soaked parts of her panties.

`` Of course darling, that's what I have been longing for all these times…..But tell me.. ´´, she added while looking down, her overhanging hair covering her eyes. `` Tell me who that bitch is whose smell I just took in? ´´, the question was accompanied with a psychotic smile, coming close to the intensity of Herman's.

`` Jesus Christus, chill down… It is just from some ship girl, nothing serious. ´´

`` **Who?!´´** , she demanded forcefully.

But Hermann stood up to her and flicked her head with his middle finger: `` Keep that yandere shit at bay, I got other things to worry about like…. For fucks sake! ´´, he pulled out his smartphone and looked at the time. Three Minutes left.

`` Fuck, fuck , fuckidy fuck. Sorry, I got no time left. But since you have my number just write me a message without hiding your own, then we can easily get into to contact. Just one of those _other things to worry about_ came into being and I need to hurry the fuck up before I get too late! ´´, he uttered while he buckled up his pants and exited the building. He left Homura behind with a dumbfounded look, the girl still looking with dismay at the exit of the building. `` In the end, I will be the only one for you…´´, she said smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here we are at it again, prepare yourself for more stupid situations and mad happenings. And keep on drinking.**

 **Chapter Four: Time is of the essence**

`` Shit, one minute left! ´´, Hermann uttered while he darted towards his intended target, but it was still quite some metres ahead of him. Going faster would raise too much suspicion, for he currently ran at the speed of an Olympian athlete during a sprinting contest, but if his calculations were correct, which they surely were, the German is definitely going to fail his record of never coming to late to meeting. The blueprints of the complete base darted through his head, desperately looking for a short cut. Hermann was not one to be superstitious, but when he saw there actually was a building that would directly lead him to the hall, where would hold his speech and introduction, he somewhat felt like the goddess of luck was actually helping him out.

`` Yes! This will work and if someone complains, I will shut them down with authority!´´, he bellowed out with his voice.

But what he did not know was the true purpose of the building that he would enter and pass through, as he was too lazy to look it up. Sadly or luckily, depending on the perspective, this building was the repair dock for the ship girls. In common sense someone would imagine a dockyard with tools and so on, but this was different. But ship girls are not something that could be explained with common sense and so what would normally be the case could not be applied here. In this case abnormality meant that the repair dockyard was more like a bathing house than an actual repair station for ships. So, in hindsight one may say that he was haunted by a goddess of misfortune, rather than being blessed by her counterpart.

But for the German Admiral it was already to late as he darted towards the building with nearly inhuman speed. The electrical door opened before him and stormed into the building. His way directly leads him beyond a red curtain, through which he ran without any care in the world. Hermann therefore stumbled into a changing room, filled with half naked ship girls that were just getting rid of their clothing or dressing up. Of course, these girls started to cream like maniacs, but Hermann passed them by swiftly, not even recognizing their screeches as his fixed goal was the emergency exit, which was placed at the end of the main bathing room. With success he left the former room and entered the bathing room, eyes immediately darting him after they heard the screams. But just like before Hermann ignored every screech and insult that was thrown at him. He did not even glance at their naked bodies, as his urges had already bee stilled minutes before. He passed through half of the room when he saw the exit in front of him, but it was severely obstructed by a pool of water. Instead of circumventing it though, he charged head on and made for a jump over it.

The man in military clothing sailed over the metre-wide pool and passed by over the heads of resident ship girls. Of course, his actions were followed by loud screams of embarrassment, nevertheless the stoic man did not even winch at their exclaims. Finally, he reached the exit and passed through the door towards his target location. Another door blocked the way, however it was neatly opened by him, rather meaning that he charged through it and pressed down the door lever with his momentum. Hermann ended up in a room that was just a door away from the tribune, from which he would be speaking then. Black curtains obstructed it and he checked the time before doing anything different. Five seconds left; just on time.

`` Jesus Christus, if I were a normal human being, the exhaustion from this sprint would have probably killed me by now…. ´´, Hermann said while exploring the room which he interpreted as some kind of preparatory room. Nothing special, just a black couch and a water dispenser for a quick chug, nevertheless they tried to uplift the whole image of the room with plants in pottery. This however, looked more desperately then neatly positioned and thus created a contrary image from what it was originally intended to present. Walking along to the door that would lead towards the podium, Hermann stumbled upon a black board on which several works of ``art´´ had been drawn on. These magni opii looked more like teenage humour, meaning that insensitive jokes and sexual organs were overrepresented. Hermann laughed at those.

When he exited the room and walked upon the podium, still being covered by black veils, he expected most of the ship girls actually being in the audience, but as he peaked through the cover, he could only recognise Suzuya, Fusou, Sendai and her sisters. The other ship girls were strangers to him, but this was not a problem, the actual issue is that still half of the seats are free. Thinking back, he remembered that he actually charged through that bathing house were the visitors were presumably ship girls. While he did so, thinking about the trouble which he actually just might have caused here, said trouble appeared behind him.

`` Pervert! Stop right there! ´´, a female voice shouted at him.

Hermann turned around and looked at the girl that was currently throwing not so untrue insults at him. Her head was downed in green hair, combed into twin tails, and olive-green eyes. Uniform wise, Hermann would describe it as a mix of old Japanese archery clothing and an aircraft carrier deck. The person besides her had similar clothing, but instead of her rough and somewhat child like hair, the other ship girl wore her pale, white hair in an elegant-open style. Her eyes were of an ember colour, contrasting the white of her hair. Another difference was the chest size of course, while the white-haired beauty was well endowed, the green-haired one was flat as a board.

`` Zuikaku, please don't engage in actions which would only paint your image darker in front of the authorities. The admiral surely had a solid reason for acting like he did. ´´, ship girl number two remined her supposed friend, trying to cool her down: `` Ahh, Admiral please excuse her rugged behaviour. ´´

`` Hnngg! ´´, Zuikaku uttered when being confronted by her words.

`` No, there is solid stuff to her complaints. I should not have just charged through the bathing house, these actions were only justified by my unwilling spirit when it comes to arrival times. So I sincerely understand this complaint, as not many might be able to understand it. Additionally children were around back then and a grown up, foreign man possibly seeing them in only natures garment is surely something not worthy of being tolerated. So, I say it loudly and clear: I am deeply sorry for causing any trouble! ´´, he replied, making a bow to emphasize his action. _And now do me a favour and leave me alone, I have more important things to worry about then dealing with another person's complaints._

White-haired girl, whose name was still unknow, took the apology well and looked upbeat after hearing it, but the ship girl to her right, named Zuikaku was not really satisfied. She even seemed to be feel attacked by her statement and due to this revelation before his eyes, Hermann found himself to be mildly interested into this situation.

`` Who are you calling a child here?! ´´, was her reply. She was basically projecting negative things from Hermann's statement onto herself. Analysing the situation even more, he added one to one and realized that because of her flat chest she probably was the target of some jokes. Normally, Hermann who is no stranger to such behaviour, would try to cool her down. In this situation however, he instantly saw her self-centred world view and realized one thing. She was projecting everything at herself. This of course somewhat angered him, ignorance is not something Hermann is keen towards, he deeply despised it, which would even sometimes lead to his internal streak of misanthropy breaking through his skin of thought. As he was currently not only angered by her behaviour, but also by the absence of ship girls which were compelled to show up here, the German man decided for a snickering return.

`` Nobody but yourself, for I was referring to the destroyers in the bathing house. Stop with this pretentious acting, only seeing the world through your own eyes, since this will lead, in this case particular, to people actually regarding you as a child, but not through your lack in the chest area, but rather due to your own behaviour. ´´, he said to her.

`` Shoukaku-nee, I am sorry, but I will now kick his ass….. ´´, she replied.

`` You are about to pick a fight, which you cannot even hope to achieve success in. ´´, he added to her words of impending violence.

`` Could both of you just stop this. ´´, Shoukaku, whose name was finally revealed, pleaded them.

But both of them ignored her, Zuikaku in full-on rage towards the new admiral, and Hermann, who still lusted for a real battle after his quick clash with Homura. But before any fighting could commence, two people charged in between them and kept both opponents from taking another step to their respective targets. Strong hands grabbed Hermann at his chest area and gently pushed him back, while the voice of the silver haired assailant assured him: `` Don't worry admiral, leave the clashes with idiots like her to us! ´´

`` What in the….´´, Hermann uttered at this revelation, but before he could say anything further he was pushed back even more and another pair of hands grabbed him, this time thou he was picked up and swiftly carried away. While this ordeal happened, the other newcomers, the ones keeping the fight from happening, followed suit and run away too, which left both Zuikaku and Shoukaku in a rather dumbfounded setting.

In the meantime, the German man, also in a profoundly confused state, was being carried away from the theatre of imminent war towards a safer place, which in this case meant out of the meeting hall and to the building opposite form it. This building paid respect to Hermann's office, as it was in an equal state of seclusion as the office, however there was a small difference which it possessed. That being the secret base of this still unknown group of assailants. The door was swiftly opened by the vanguard ship girl, who also entered first. Then Hermann was carried in like a princess and quickly brought to a rather large leather chair on which he was seated upon by a black-haired girl. While he could have freed himself easily from her grasp, the German was much to intrigued by the ongoing scheme as to interfere, therefore he decided to let things just play out as given, hoping to find entertainment in this drama of not so world reaching consequences.

He sat in the chair with a content smile and waited for the girls to line up to each other. Immediately he realised that all of them wore the same kind of clothing, combing this with their behaviour it somehow reminded him of the power rangers or the ginyu force form Dragon Ball Z. The only difference in appearance though was height, chest size, facial structure and hair colour. Not being able to contend his inquisitiveness any longer Hermann asked them: `` Okay, just tell me what in the name of Christ is actually transpiring here right now, since I should be holding a speech right now and being late is definitely not something that I am really fond off. So, care to explain? ´´

`` Of course, admiral! We are the official Admiral-Protection squad! Consisting of the Akizuki-class destroyers! My name is Akizuki, name ship of said class and leader of this prestigious task force! ´´, one of the girls replied to him.

`` Ah-ahm I am Teruzuki, second Akizuki-class destroyer! I am pleased to meet you admiral! ´´, added the girl that stood to Akizuki's right, in contrast to her she had orange-brownish hair.

A stoic voice came next and said in a short manner: `` Fourth Akizuki-class destroyer, Hatsuzuki. ´´

Now it was the turn for the last girl of the gang, she stood out the most form her sister, for she had white hair: `` Suzutsuki is my name, third ship of the Akizuki-class destroyer series. I am looking forward to work with you, admiral! ´´

Hermann took their sights and voice in for a second time, analysing their behavioural signals. The first one, Akizuki appeared to be one of the more upbeat people here in the base. Her sister Teruzuki thou showed a bit of nervousness in not only her tone, but also in her body language. Compared to the train wreck of nervousness that Fusou was in the beginning, this however is nothing. Hatsuzuki did not give off anything of interest, she acted more like a robot with pinpoint instructions. Suzutsuki shared sentiment with Akizuki, but there are definitely differences in their motivations, Hermann judged so from his own experience from the military.

`` So only I am left then, my name is Scipio, hail from Germany and was supposed to introduce myself to my future fleet until I was confronted by a self-centred maniac. Then I was about to get into a fight with her until my self-appointed knights in shining armour came to the rescue and abducted me. Would care to explain why you did so? I am mildly intrigued for you answer. ´´, Hermann said and gazed at Akizuki, who he proclaimed as the leader of the group in thought.

She corrected her pose, standing upright and full of confidence: `` Several admirals have been filing in complaints about the ship girls that recently came to this base, for their acting is unbefitting. We as the proud Akizuki-class will put an end to this problem and keep our admiral from harm. The aircraft carrier Zuikaku is one of these foes, notorious for acting like she has a personal problem with the admirals of her former bases. We only did the right thing, saving our admiral from her wrath that is. ´´

`` Okay, okay… I commend you for your tenacity and sense for justice, but in that case, I was at fault too, so I can overlook her acting for now. Only her egoistic world view riled me up back then. ´´, Hermann replied with a small sigh: `` Still, you should not have just carried me away. I was about too make a speech, even tough half of the ship girls were missing at that point and I would have had to wait anyways, just skipping out on it by being hauled away is not something that I want to be listed in my portfolio. However, all of you acted out of pure intention, therefore I cannot really be angered about it, but before you even get the notion of repeating such acts, you should inform me beforehand. ´´

`` Yes, admiral! The Admiral-Protection squad is terrible sorry for this inconvenience! ´´, they answered in unison, also bowing as part of the apology.

`` At ease girls.. ´´, Hermann said while standing up and walking towards the door: `` If you really want to be my body guard team, then we can talk about such things later one, hit me tomorrow at my office. For now however, I need to make a formal introduction and then I will have to set some formal things up, coupled that with a few drinks and it will already be night time. ´´

When he left Hermann heard a loud ``Hai! ´´ coming from behind and could soon see the destroyers form a protective circle around him. `` Jesus Christus. ´´, he uttered in slight frustration.

`` We can not let you walk here unprotected, for this vile carrier could still be lurking around here. ´´, the white-haired ship girl, Suzutsuki added.

So, Hermann accepted his fate of being squashed into a protective circle and went on with getting back, to not waste any time the German decided to run the way back, even if it were just a few metres. The entrance door was swiftly reached and he issued the girls to got to the audience room, which he only achieved after ordering it to them. Proceeding with his action, Hermann again opened the door through which he had entered and left the building minutes ago. Passing by the old and boring prep-room, he found his way to the tribune all over again, but this time he was actually to find most of the seats already used. Additionally, whispering gave away that they indeed had to wait, something Hermann was not fond of. He sighed a moved towards the actual speaker's podest and adjusted the microphone to his height, as soon as he rasped his voice, most of the talking seized, safe for a few rascals, but at that moment Hermann had certainly lost care for it as he indeed was not interested into oral introductions himself. Further overlooking these issues he spoke: `` Good day ladies and gentlemen, if there are any around here right now. My name is Scipio and as you surely know I will be the admiral for this naval base's ship girl fleet, as I was kindly invited by your government to do so. For my credentials and qualifications, I spent several years in the German military academy, afterwards is was promoted to a common officer rank and started my military career. How someone like me achieved the admiralty so quickly, you certainly might ask this and I shall give an answer to that. Instead of slowly raising through ranks in times of peace, I stepped up the game with a show of merit during the second battle of Jutland. As most of our personnel got killed or heavily injured throughout the battle, I was given the chance to this position. Since then I have been commanding German Naval forces successfully in defending the Baltic sea. ´´, he cracked his neck in a short manner and continued: `` I do not expect many things, but those I expect are to be followed or you will face sever punishment. The first of rule is to respect me as an authority, meaning that I will not tolerate insults and actions of ill will directed at me. Second rule, what I just said is also valid for your peers, for if we start this voyage with infighting, defeat will surely be our final destination. The third rule is to not blindly follow your superiors, if you think that I am doing absolute miserable than voice your opinion and correct me, this rule however is not there for you to use this as an excuse to annoy me, so if you do this not out of concern for your peers and the military goal, then you will be dealt with according to martial law. The fourth rule is not a rule in itself, rather it is a given, which I will just say here for clarity's sake, which is that you always give one hundred percent in battle and never hold back, even if victory looks pre-emptive from the beginning. Burn these four rules into your mind and life up to them, so we will kick these abominations back into whatever hole they crawled out from! ´´, he lowered his voice: `` Thank you for your patience. ´´

He stepped down from the pedestal and walked back to the prep-room, leaving the mass with only his words in their minds. His way of ending the speech were not meant to somehow influence them in a certain way and while he would that from time to time, in that case he left early because he did not further care. Hermann reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flask of brandy, that was still unopened. Pulling the cap of with a trademark sound of small metal pins ripping from their base, he then lifted the now open bottle to his mouth and let the fluid enter his body. Half of it was consumed, then he put the cap back on and put the amber coloured spirit back into his trousers.

`` For a cheap airport product and being some kind of no-name brand, this thing is actually quite good. Nevertheless, it has quite a good kick in it, felt like about 46 percent of alcohol in there. ´´, he pondered about the drink as he left the building wholesome. He opened the door in front of him, but in the case that some vile assailant would wait for him outside of it, he peaked before he actually swayed it open. Assured of his safety, he passed through the final door and got out of the building. In addition to the peaking, he also activated his sensors and scanned the area. Many ship girls were in his vicinity, but this was just due to the speech and there wasn't one in ambush range. Next stop will be his office again, where he would assign a ton of things, order various things for the office and look at former mission reports. Now the boring phase of the day would shift in. If he manages to do all these things in a reasonable amount of time, he would hit the supermarket afterwards to buy some goods.

After an uneventful walk back to his office, on which he was surprisingly not interrupted by anyone, Hermann found himself starting to enjoy this wonderful solitude. While he definitely enjoyed socializing and drinking with his comrades, keeping up with fusion of teenage girls and warships is certainly not his forte, but as long as it would entertain him, Hermann could start to grow fond of it. Entering through the front door, he found himself back in the entrance room of the office, which reminded one more of storage room than an office, as even here everyting was cramped up with various things.

`` Hmm, if someone misbehaves, they can make a list of all the things here as some kind of punishment I guess. But seriously for which reasons is all of this shit even stored there? I mean they should at least have a big storage hall here, I am not convinced that they did not get the money to build one, this ordeal here however grows more suspicious with every moment. ´´, he muttered. `` In the end all of those crates are acutally bombs and when someone touches them, they will blast us all to Kingdom Come, hehehe…´´ Hermann morbidly laughed about and imagined the whole base being ripped apart, carcasses flying through the air and the smell of human flesh that is being eaten away by the fiery hunger of fire. Wonderful.

`` Back to reality, I still have a shit ton of things to do here, mostly paper work and similar pests….. At least I can blast some metal while filling them out, otherwise I think I would have gone insane instead, even though I already house the spirit of madness in my brain. ´´, the muttering continued as he walked towards his office in the first floor. After passing by several open rooms filled with a mass of crates and paper, he found himself in front of the closed door to his office. He opened it with a quick motion and subsequently entered the room.

Immediately he tensed up as he found his chair turned around, someone sitting in it. Flaring up his sensors, he found himself relieved as he identified the signature as one belonging to a ship girl. With this kind of entrance, he expected someone different, who would have defiantly caused a lot of trouble. Keeping it short, the base would have not survived in the ensuing battle.

`` Would you do me the honour of turning around and showing yourself, I think that you sit a certain someone's chair, who is prone to using it in a few moments. ´´, he said to the still hidden person.

`` Jeez, you are such a slack… ´´, she replied as she turned around.

Hermann took her in and was… Slightly shocked to be honest, he did not expect an image like this. At first there were her looks in general, skimpy would have been the understatement of the year in that case. He was at a loss of words at even beginning to describe her clothes. The next things to jump into his sight were her eyes, having a blue tone and a freaking yellow star instead of irises. Hair was long and blond, the only normal thing about her. Putting normal things aside now, she had massive breasts, which were neatly accented by her revealing dress. But the most surprising thing for Hermann was the inscription **BB-61** on her top.

`` What in the name of Christ…. ´´, Hermann sighed loudly.

`` Hey! What is it? Aren't you entrance by a lovely lady such as me? ´´, she puffed out her chest while saying this.

Hermann shook his head: `` I am trying to make sense out of this….. Would you tell me what you are doing here in my room, Iowa I presume? ´´

She pointed up her thumb and replied: `` Yeah! That is me! To answer your question, I was told by a common friend to get here after arriving, Hermann! ´´

He quickly changed from his sighing and annoyed stance to a more aggressive one, since she knew his real name. But he quickly connected the dots and pulled out his phone. `` Don't tell me…. ´´

While he could hear a ``Yeah! ´´ form Iowa in the background, he chose to ignore her and call a certain person, who is hopefully going to clarify things here. This time it was not his smartphone. It ringed for two times until someone picked up: `` Howdy, Herman how are you doing? ´´

`` Fine, until I found this surprise in my room. And you? ´´, he answered with an ironic smile, but before anyone could reply furthermore, he looked over to Iowa. He assured her that he did not hate her or anything, quickly diffusing the situation before anyone would be hurt.

`` Ahh, yess… Ahmm, you see we ran into some diplomatic problems some time ago… ´´

`` Let me guess, the japs found out that you were constructing ship girls with their tech. ´´

`` One hundred percent, my friend! I will keep it short, they were pissed and threatened us with retaliation or similar things. As we are not in the mood of having to deal with WW2 all over again, we meet up with their diplomats and quickly got a deal nailed down: We would hand them over Okinawa, which we seized after the second Korean war and give them one of our ship girls as a kind of insurance. Since we are good friends, I explicitly demanded that she would be sent to your base and be under your command. They agreed any everyone is happy now. ´´

`` Except for me, since I will certainly have to deal with upcoming sentiments of rage from some of the more revanchist people here, mostly ship girls I think. ´´

`` Hey, we could have sent Enterprise over there…. ´´

Hermann laughed at his statement, Alex joined him in succession.

`` If you want to start an international conflict, then be my guest! At least then I would see some action here too, ahhh Alex you don't know how freaking annoying this constant absence from the frontlines is going to be. But cutting the chit chat, what did you tell her about me, for she actually knows my real name. ´´, Hermann asked his friend.

`` Just the basics, not that you are a crazed cyborg who lusts for blood and battle. ´´, he replied while chuckling about Hermann's morbid sense of humour, but deep in his heart he knew that Hermann could sincerely be hoping for something to happen.

`` Okay, fine then if that really is everything, I will somehow find a way of handling things around here, can't let it get to me. And if things get really as boring as I am making them out to be, then I will be calling you in for that EU4 game which he had to postpone because of your ''love interests''. ´´

`` Jesus Christ, don't remind, I know that I have sinned, so spare with those thots. ´´, he replied while he laughed heartily.

`` Fine, fine Alex. I'll won't bother you any longer then, wish you a good day! ´´, Hermann uttered with a smile on his face.

After Alexander did the same, Hermann cancelled the call and put his phone back into his trousers. He turned around to Iowa, who was not sitting in his chair any longer, but instead found herself a comfortable place on the couch. When he faced her, the girl put on a pouty look and said: `` Hmpph! Ignoring a cute girl like me! ´´

`` Ahhh..yeah, exactly what I have time for right now. Listen Iowa, what have you been informed of? Do you know where everything is? Do you have a place to sleep? I guess things were dealt with in a rather sporadic way, so it is likely that you still need information. ´´

She changed her mood and complained: `` I can't get these japs, everybody expected to be will informed from the beginning! What is this?! I just got pulled out form Guam and now I am supposed to know everything?! ''You should have already been informed of that.'' , ''not authorised'' and ''speak to your higher-ups'' just to name a few of their answers. ´´

Hermann sighed in his trademark fashion where he accentuated the action with a face palm. `` So nothing, I guess then? ´´

``Yeah. ´´, the ''yeah'' this time was not in her upbeat fashion.

Hermann pulled out a paper sheet from his pants and handed it over to Iowa: `` Take this map then for starters. I don't have much time now for explaining, so I will make a suggestion. You will have the honour of usning this most royal couch until I finish the freaking paper work here and then you can crash in at my home until we get all things sorted out. Is this acceptable for you? If ya don't want to spend the night in my bungalow, I can get you a hotel room or- ´´

Instead of answering him right away, she put her finger onto his mouth, effectively silencing him. `` Ya don't need to go such lengths Admiral, your place is fine enough for me. ´´

`` Fine then, so we got at least that handled now…. If you would excuse me, I will be doing some paper work now. ´´, he said as he walked to his desk. In a successive manner, he opened the laptop and started it up. Then he turned the wheel chair to the right towards the location where his sports bag was being placed. He pulled out a ton of lists, applications et cetera et cetera.

When he straightened back up again, to his surprise he found Iowa standing before him. Because of his position, he stared for a moment at her impressive rack, before shifting his gaze towards he eyes. Of course, Iowa saw this and replied: `` Ohhh, were you staring at my breasts? Naughty boy…. ´´

Her tone was in a rather playful manner, so Hermann replied in an according way, meaning stoic and without any emotions: `` Yes. ´´

`` Ohh, if it's that way…. ´´, she continued in the same way, but Hermann interrupted quickly.

`` Bored? ´´, she nodded at his question.

He put on a smile and pulled out some of the applications from the stack of sheets. `` These are for some kitchen utensils, which I beckoned to be in need of from the beginning, so I got some of them when I arrived here. I want you to fill them out, they are not really complicated, just write down what it is and for which purpose, get creative, but don't overdo it like writing down ''storing human flesh'' as justification for a freezer. I put a list with all the things needed in there. ´´, he replied while pulling out a pen from the magic dimension that is called a pocket and subsequently gave it to her.

This time she sighed: `` Not what I expected… ´´ A small smile formed on her face: `` But better than nothing. ´´

With the American battleship dealt with, Hermann returned to his task at hand, for which he stared up his laptop. Basic fleet composition. Normally he this wouldn't be problematic as he reaped a lot of experience from his role as Admiral, but Ship Girls are in a tactical sense more like special forces and are in need of different handling.

He logged into his account and started up Microsoft Excel, since he would be doing this in a modern way. But even the most modern person sometimes did something old school, so Hermann also added several sheets of white paper to his arsenal. Armed with a pen and paper, he set to work and looked at the other sheets were his fleet was neatly listed:

 **Destroyers(DD):**

· Akizuki-Class x4

· Kamikaze-Class x5

· DD Mutsuki

· DD Kiseragi

· DD Fubuki

· DD Murakumo

· DD Akebono

· DD Sazanami

· DD Ushio

· DD Yamakaze

· DD Murasame

· DD Shigure

· DD Michishio

· DD Arashio

· DD Oyashio

· DD Amatsukaze

· DD Isokaze

· DD Hamakaze

 **Light Cruisers(CL):**

· Sendai-class x3

· Agano-class x4

· Tenryuu-Class x2

· CL Kitakami

· CL Ooi

· CL Abukuma

· CL Kinu

· CL Yuubari

· Cl Yura

 **Heave Cruisers(CA):**

· CA Aoba

· CA Kinugasa

· CA Takao

· CA Atago

· CA Maya

· CA Suzuya

· CA Kumano

· CA Ashigara

· CA Haguro

 **Battleships(BB):**

· Kongou-class x4

· BB Nagato

· BB Mutsu

· BB Fusou

· BB Yamashiro

 **Aircraft Carriers(CV):**

· CV Kaga

· CV Akagi

· CV Shoukaku

· CV Zuikaku

 **Submarines(SS):**

· SS I-168

· SS I-19

· SS I-26

 _Twenty-three destroyers, fifteen light cruisers, nine heave cruisers, eight battleships, four aircraft carriers and three submarines. Meaning that I am in command of sixty-two ships in total plus the up unto now unknow factor called Iowa, well that is certainly quite sizeable I guess…. But back to matters at hand now, I need to somehow organize these things here. I will take fifteen of the destroyers and five of the light cruisers, forming respectably five vanguard squads of four girls each then. Vanguard will be formed in a wide crescent shape, with the tips pointed backwards, so that I can easily order them to surround the enemy if the forces are not so big. The remaining eight destroyers will be escort for the carriers, two of them for each one. Leaving me with a bunch of CL's and CA's, those will form a main line with the intent of supporting the vanguard if the enemy proves to be stronger. Ten CL's are still available, I will take eight of them and add seven of the CA's for this task. The remaining Cruisers will team up with Iowa to form a fire fighter team. Historically the Iowa-class was the fastest battleship class to be ever built, I can't find a reason for that to be not correct anymore, so seems to be fitting for this job. 40.6 centimetres main guns can turn an engagement quickly around. The rest of the battleships will form a back row that is used for long-distance bombardment, safe for two of the Kongou-class ships which will be able to leave formation and flank the enemy if needed. Carriers plus escort ships will be further back, with one Sub behind them to not have something creep upon our backs. The two others will be additional flanking units or placed in the front for extra vanguard…. Hmmm, I think this will work out as a standard composition, but just as Moltke one said `` No plan will survive contact with the enemy. ´´ so this arrangement is of course open for further remodelling._

Hermann put his thoughts to paper and started to draw a sketch with his pen onto the white paper, besides this the standard squad prearrangement was being listed. After he finished hi sketches and could hear the silent cursing of Iowa that stemmed from the bureaucratic complexity of ordering a freezer, Hermann was about to digitalise his work, but the German was unfortunate interrupted by a certain Destroyer class entering his office.

`` Admiral! ´´, Akizuki called out.

`` Hmm, a bit sooner than I thought, but now you that you have arrived we can get things discussed concering your protective squad. I would like to offer you a seat here, but I don't think that five people will fit on this couch. ´´, Hermann replied as he pointed toward Iowa, who was still in thought on how to formulate her specific purposes for each kitchen utensil.

In a fashion which could be perceived a bit overreactive, the ship girls again formed some kind of protective circle around the German, who could only sigh on the sudden development of things in his office.

`` Who are you and what are doing in the Admiral's office? Are you trying to attack him? ´´, Akizuki stepped out from the circle and confronted the now perplexed American battleship.

But before one of the sides could even make the next step, Hermann outsmarted the three girls encircling him and positioned himself on his wheel chair, whom he subsequently used as a jump platform. He landed graciously as his right foot touched the ground, then he turned around, facing Akizuki and took a step back to come closer to Iowa. The tables had been turned, a few moments before they bound him to his chair and confronted the American Ship, but now he protected her and confronted them.

`` Calm down, Jesus Chirstus… What are you even so riled up about? ´´, Hermann asked her as he leaned to the outer structure of the couch to make this situation a bit more enjoyable.

She stuttered this time: `` W-w-well she c-could have been like Zuikaku wanting to attack you… ´´

Suzutsuki backed her sister up: `` We were just acting in your favour, doing what is best for your wellbeing, Admiral. ´´

`` Interrupting my work and keeping me from continuing, that is it what you are doing here right now. ´´, he countered. `` If we look at it in an objective way, then you are actually the threat here as this fine girl here… ´´, eh pointed at Iowa. ``…was just helping me. ´´

His lines made Akizuki and the rest of the gang only doubt themselves as worn shield of the Admiral, but Hermann who had no nerves for such things right now said: `` Okay, I see that you were trying to help me out, but- ´´

Misfortune struck again and this time someone came sprinting into his office, blabbering some nonsense about ''Burning love!'' and such. `` Teitoku! ´´, the person erupted as she took Herman into her sights.

He could only hear Suzutsuki utter a ''please god no, not her'' when the interestingly dressed ship girl arrived and jumped straight at Hermann, who was reaching levels of perplexity that should not be reachable, even for a cyborg like him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A drink a day keeps the doctor away, or so. Well doesn't matter, but whilst one scene of the story reads like an overexaguarted advertisment for Glenfarclas, it is not one. When writing about things you like, it can easily get out of hands. Stay Thirsty!**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Burning Love, Burning Rage.**

The bullet train of a woman came ever closer in her attempt of forcefully embracing the Admiral, Hermann tough was not new to such quick and sudden attacks, in his past time he had often to deal with enemies ambushing him. So, he was able to slow down his perception of time and got a clean vision of the woman who was attacking him. She wore some kind of heavily modified outfit, in his mind it came close to some kind of shrine maiden outfit that he one saw in an anime, but he couldn't really point it down. On her head she wore a sorts of golden head gear, which Hermann identified as radio antennas. Well it could be something different, but the German Admiral wasn't able to find any other usage for this thing in the given time. Next was her hair that was long and brown, she additionally had two kinds of buns behind the aforementioned antennas.

Right now, however, Hermann should rather try to find a way for escape then to analyse her looks, so he took in his environment, as he did not want to get crashed down by her. As of now, the couch was to his left and his desk to his right, both pieces of furniture would give him the advantage of higher ground, if he could reach them in a reasonable speed. The problem hereby was not his capabilities of getting to them, but rather that he would have to move at an inhuman speed, which would surely raise suspicion. If he hadn't wasted his time on her looks, something like this would have been able, though not anymore from this point of time onwards. Ducking was his next option and probably the only reasonable one. The girl with her random chants was now only two metres away from Hermann, so he had to act quickly.

Thus, he acted, with the intention of not wasting any more time, quickly and pushed his body wholesome to the ground, making it look like a last-effort action to the ship girls in his vicinity. Pressed to the ground, he could see the still unknown ship girl sailing over him in surprise. A hefty bump signalled that she crashed into the floor behind him.

`` Jesus, Maria Mutter Gottes… ´´, he cursed in German when getting up from his crouching position.

But before Hermann was able to make sense of this whole situation, another person stormed into the room. She looked very similar to his assailant, only her hair was different. Comparing it, the newcomers hair was a long greyish black, not held in any specific style. Notably tough was the golden hair clip in her hair and the lone strand running across her upper fore head. For only a short amount of time, the German was again perplexed by this repeating chain of sudden arrivals and thus found himself distracted for only a fraction of a second. This unwariness tough spelled his doom, as the ship girl behind him found an opening. So, she tackled him with full force and brought the battle-hardened down with her embrace form behind.

`` Teitoku, why are your dodging my burning love? ´´, she asked him in a playful manner.

`` What the? ´´, he uttered before the other newcomer charged over to them and tried to get her off of him.

`` Haruna is deeply sorry Admiral, but I couldn't get her stop…´´, she uttered.

Hermann only sighed and took matters into his own hands as he stood up, with the girl still clinging to him. `` Could you please get down? ´´, he asked with ironical politeness.

If she was able to read the mood of his tone or not, the clingy assailant still let go of him and walked over to her compatriot. The two ship girls now stood side by side and the black haired was about to scold her supposed, which Hermann conducted form their similar clothing, sister.

`` Stop, stop, both of you. ´´, he directed his attention towards them: `` Before I get some half-assed explanation as to why you just jumped onto me like we are some freshly married couple, I want you to quickly introduce yourselves. ´´

Unsurprisingly, the very active brown-haired girl was the first to speak: `` Well Teitoku, I am the English born fast battleship Kongou of the Kongou-class! Laid down in England and raised in Japan, thus I embody the culture of tea drinking! Additionally, I- ´´, she was about to go on, but Hermann cut her off with his index finger that was quickly motioned to her lips in order to give the other girl a chance for a quick introduction.

`` Ah-hm, I am fast battleship Haruna also of the Kongou-class… Admiral, Haruna can't express how sorry she is for the inconviences my sister might have caused…´´

`` Ahh, Haruna don't beat yourself to it! Nobody can resist my burning love, I bet he already got the hots for me after my cunning move. ´´, Kongou tried to reassure her.

Hermann stepped in now: `` You shouldn't feel sorry for something that you didn't do, Haruna. In that case I have to agree with your sister.. ´´

Before anyone could add something to this ordeal, he spoke again: `` You on the other hand..´´, he pointed towards Kongou: `` Just barged in here while I was in a conversation of sorts with other people and directly jumped at me with.. ahmm what did you say? Ahh yess, so called ''Burning Love''. ´´ The sighing set in: `` Okay, it is the first day for all of us, so I will overlook this for now, but for the future know the following: I don't like it when people try to surprise me, I really can't stand it. Additionally, I was just having a conversation. You could have just waited until I was done with them and then attack me, maybe I would have even found it funny in such a constellation. ´´, he paued for a short moment: `` I am a really chilled dude normally, but when I am a bit stressed, I tend to handle things in other ways. And guess what, I am a bit stressed right now. ´´

He pointed over to a huge stack of papers: `` See those? ´´

Everyone in the room nodded at his question approval, so he continued: `` Then you are now aware of all the, excuse my harsh tone, horse shit I have to work through. Not only do I have to fill out an abysmal amount of papers, I also have to get things like fleet composition and training regiments done by nightfall. And since I can easily find one hundred things more interesting than writing my down for two hundred times, I am not in the best of moods, but still trying. ´´, he looked to Kongou: `` And now consider all of those things and ask yourself ''Does the Admiral have time for such bantering?''. ´´

She seemingly lost confidence and answered: `` N-no.. I guess. ´´

Hermann smiled and put up his right thumb: `` Correct and as you can see I am not pissed off or anything, I just want a peaceful atmosphere, so I can get the working done here in due time. ´´

This time Haruna spoke up in an ambitious tone: `` Admiral if you need help doing things here, Haruna and the other are sure to help! ´´ She looked at them and got several nods of approval. Only Iowa, who was already working and had lost interest in the discussion did not react towards Haruna's call.

`` I really appreciate that, but most of the papers here need my personal approval and it would not look good if we had two different writing styles on each paper. But if you really want to help me out then.. ´´, he pulled out several pens and sheets of paper: ``…. Check the rooms around here. I don't know if you have already seen this mess, but instead of being an office building, someone just turned it into a storage hall. I am not so fond of having to share this building with heaps of garbage and unused things, meaning that all of you would do me a huge favour, if you were to make lists of every room and what is being stored there. ´´, a smile accentuated his endearing proposal.

`` Normally I would not be keen to doing such things, but if it brings me closer to the Admiral's good side, then of course I will do so! ´´, Kongou turned around and looked at the other ship girls: `` Ladies! We have work to do. ´´

Only now she saw the American Battleship neatly sitting on the couch and flailing out the applications for Hermann's deeply longed for kitchen utensils. She looked at her suspiciously, then realised that she was an American ship girl: `` Hey! Didn't know that we had a Yank here! ´´

Iowa smirked at the fast battleship and stood up from her comfortable position, getting closer to her and stretching out a hand: `` Name is Iowa, Iowa-class Battleship. Nice to meet you! ´´

Kongou shook the hand in succession and Hermann who was in fact a bit stressed because of Iowa's arrival in the Japanese base, thinking that some kind of anti-American sentiment could be dwelling in the minds of the ship girls here. Kongou however, was constructed in Britain, which meant that she at least had some kind of connection to the west and could act as a sorts of bridge builder. Everything was now somehow working in his way, her arrival did not cause infighting, some of his work would he shifted away from him and he could get some peace to finish what he had to do. It seemed like luck was this time truly on his side, but the fall from grace was only inches away. There was still something that could actually endanger his nerves and progress, something that deep down on his heart he knew to be happening sooner or later.

When Haruna entered the room she was politely enough to close the doors upon entering, but this act of politeness was quickly squashed under the literal heel of someone kicking in the door. Herman turned his head towards the sudden intruder and instantly recognized her as the short-tempered aircraft carrier Zuikaku, her sister trailing after her, still trying to cool her down. Shoukaku however did not manage to do so and the green-haired and pissed off ship girl verbally attacked Hermann: `` SO this is where you are hiding, you fucking pervert!? After getting saved by his little squad, because he can't face up, he runs away from confrontation! And this speech acting all cool and shit! Please stop it, you are just making everything worse doing so. ´´

Normally you would expect martial court for such unreasonable action, but Hermann just started to laugh. Not normally, but like a real maniac. Adding up to the picture of his insanity was the smile he wore when she entered. The laughing went on, leading to Zuikaku truly being crept out by it.

Grabbing a handkerchief form his pockets and swiping away his crocodile tears, he found himself in a more reasonable state to respond to the CV: `` Jesus, Jesus…. Things are just getting better, aren't they, my dear? First day at work and get immediately shit from some self-centred fucks in need of an ego boost, but since I am so generous today to everyone and I see myself at fault here too… ´´, he changed his whole demeanour from crazed to dead serious: `` I would dearly advise you leave my office and overthink your actions. Otherwise I will have you quicker scrapped than you can get your aircraft into the skies. ´´

The angered and irritable Zuikaku, tough somewhat anxious because of his angered aura, was about to say something, but her sister got the better of her and quickly pulled her out of the room. She did what Hermann started and began to scold her with remarkable intensity, allowing the remaining witnesses to somehow understand what she said. With the troublemaker gone, there was still something lingering in the minds of the girls and that was Hermann's outburst. While his words of disdain could have been expected, his laughter was quite unsettling for the ship girls as it gave him the aura of someone who would come back armed the next day and start a mass shooting.

Hermann was quick to realize this and therefore cut off any thoughts into that direction by reminding them of the work that was still there to be finished. Pretty much all of them were happy to change the topic and went on with tier specific task, leading to Hermann and Iowa again being the only people in his office. While she went on with the applications, eh instead brought up his laptop again and typed some date into Excel. While doing so, he was sharply reminded that he could not really escape the arduous paper work by randomly entering equations into the included calculator and so started his next ordeal. But it wouldn't be him, if he wouldn't try to find a way to ease his agony: `` Iowa, would you mind it, if I were to turn up some music? ´´

She smiled at him and replied: `` Sure, Admiral! As long as it is not what they normally play on the radio, I am fine with everything. How could you even dare to call that music? ´´

`` It is cheap to produce, does not require any form of talent, you only have to look good, it is repetitive and makes whole a lot of money. While there are many talented musicians around here in this time, most of them will sadly never get a glimpse of fame, for that would require people to change their views of things. ´´, he said back.

`` Yeah, know what you mean…. But I can't understand it, I mean there is so much better shit to listen to, but these douches just don't even bother! Back in Guam the marines there listened to this crap all day long when they had nothing to do! Sometimes I even had to flee from the mess hall because I couldn't endure it any longer! A pitched battle, where blood is streaming down your face and you just lost an arm, is nothing compared to the pain I get from that shit! ´´, she exclaimed.

Hermann was truly surprised by her reaction: `` I never thought that you would be that gung-ho about hating modern music, but I can understand you, believe me. Sooner or later you will have to come to tolerate it tough, otherwise you might get into trouble with some of your peers, for insulting someone's music taste is like insulting them personally. ´´, Hermann paused shortly as he connected the AUX-cable with his laptop. `` I have had a lot of experience with toxic people and their toxic music tastes, some even think that they are on a higher moral ground, not that it matters, because they listen to some kind of indigenous African music or shit. ´´

She nodded at his words in agreement, but her inner reasoning still told her to rub her opinion into people's minds, but she didn't want to somehow get him on her bad side after the outburst from before, so she refuted from saying anything more to this topic. Conversation however was not out of reach for her, so she asked him: `` What types of music do you actually listen to, Admiral? ´´

A heartily laughter, foreign to what happened before, escaped him and he replied: `` If I were to talk about all of my musical tastes, then I would be having an hour-long monologue about that topic. ´´

`` Well if it you Admiral, I would even sit here and listen for hours! ´´, she said with a more playful voice.

Hermann laughed even more and said: `` Stop the flattery and we don't really have the time for that, but I will give you the short version of it: Music is for me something to express emotions and sceneries, therefore I tend to have a bit of an attachment to several works of art. Skipping anymore useless side notes, I like three types of music in general and one additional genre for the funnies. From the three I dearly like and hear on a daily basis, one is more modern, while the two other are from your time as an actual warship and further back. ´´ He sparked her interest with the notion. `` Let's travel back in time and look at the older pieces first. I think the oldest song I actually have in my collection is the ''Palästinalied'' from Walter von der Vogelwheide. It dates back to the middle ages and the song is about the crusades. The we have several works from the baroque period like Vivaldi, Händel, Bach and such, those are followed by the stars of the classical period, meaning Hayden, Mozart and Beethoven. Now we have to make a jump forward, leading us to the formation of the German Empire and all of the military songs which stem from that period, further moving on and World War two comes in crashing, accompanied with more German military songs that are all in my library. ´´, a short pause now marked the jump from old to newer music: `` Progressive Rock and Hard Rock are next, bands like King Crimson and Led Zeppelin should be mentioned here. Now however, we shall move to the prime of my collection: Heavy Metal and its consorts. Notable favourites of mine here are Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer et cetera et cetera. In all honesty I could go along for an hour or so just talking about my favourite Metal Bands. ´´

`` But this brings me back to the follow up question, what type of music would you be comfortable with to endure it for a few hours? ´´, he asked while scratching the back of his head.

She put her index finger towards her lips in a thoughtful manner and replied chuckling: `` Rock'n Roll baby! ´´

Hermann laughed lightly about this act and added: `` Well in that case we will listen to Zeppelin then. I even invented a drinking game for their songs, but that one is rather problematic and would likely lead to a mad drunken maze instead of a light-hearted state of drunken wisdom. ´´

`` Well, I think ship girls won't get drunk so easily, so… ´´, she suggested.

`` Wrong, my dear. I have had some experiences with a certain ship girl and alcohol, so I have to disagree with you on that sentiment. To make things even worse is that I only have high quality Whisky here, that should not be used to chug yourself into Oblivion. Hmmm, I would need to buy more cheap Brandy, Schnapps and Vodka for such instances. ´´

`` Hmmm, would you care to elaborate this story about a drunken ship girl? I am mildly interested, if I am honest…. ´´, this time she turned her body over in a suggestive manner to him.

`` Jesus, Jesus… Stop trying to get on my good side with sexual advances. Let me tell you the following: It won't work! But I might even tell you the story, for it is truly mildly funny. ´´

Her reply as uttered in a standard pout, to which Hermann found himself accustomed in from his interactions hours ago. Therefore, he just ignored it and opened his music library on his laptop and chose the first LP from Led Zeppelin. Then he fiddled around with the options and put in the other Albums for consecutive playing, since he was pretty much sure that the work won't be done in about forty minutes. _Good Times Bad Times_ started off and Hermann now began his wonderful work of filling out bureaucratic papers, which would have surely given any administrator form the former EU a hard boner but complaining and cursing will only get you so far, so better shut it in and finish that shit!

Time passed by and minutes transformed into hours, both were tough still sitting in the office and working through the papers. Iowa began to get more and more creative with her reason for the acquirement of certain utensils. For the aforementioned freezer she wrote that they are in need to store tons of ice cream, which would significantly raise the morale of the ship girls. Hermann on the other hand shut off every ounce of thought and creativity as to not grow insane form the constant same shit that was filling out these papers. Normally he would have a gotten him a slave for such purposes, otherwise called ''The new Guy'', but he was missing such a person right now. In addition, he would also need a stamp of his signature to shift this work totally away from him, but such an item was also missing right now. Content with the situation, as he could not change anything about it, Hermann continued with the task at hand and furthermore refrained form his till now constant sighing. He would be fond of an interruption now.

And fond he was when someone opened the door and would finally give him an opportunity to put his mind into something. In that case he, the six ship girls form before, that being Kongou, Haruna and the Akizuki-class, returned from their probably equally annoying job.

`` Jesus, that was a hassle! Teitoku, we have finally finished that bloody and shitty list! ´´, she stormed in slightly annoyed.

That annoyance was quite understandable form Hermann's perspective, as he intentionally gave them that job as he didn't want to do it. He stood up and walked over: `` Ahhh, thank you very much! Your really did me favour there! Now I don't have to work here until late night and miss out on the sleeping. ´´ Kongou handed him the list over, but when he was about to pull it away, she still held onto it.

She put on a smirk: `` Well, after having to do such an arduous task, I think some kind of payment is due. Isn't it girls? ´´

Haruna didn't really give an answer and the Akizuki-class destroyers added in unison that they don't need payment if it for the Admiral. Kongou of course sighed at such a development, but before she could give in, Hermann spoke: `` Well, you all worked hard, and I think that all of you should be rewarded. ´´, he walked back, leaving the report still in Kongou's right hand and got a bottle of Glendronach 18 YO from the office desk. The bottle was accompanied by a bunch of noosing glasses.

`` Buckle up, everyone will get a taste of that wonderful spirit. Aged eighteen years in Bourbon and Sherry casks, then put into this simple but stylish bottle! ´´, he cast out with joy.

Iowa put on a smirk as he actually wanted to ask him for a taste of the former already mentioned Whisky. And while the other girls gave of mixed, tough interested glances, Kongou was not sated by his offer, she wanted him to accept her ''Burning Love''.

So, she put on an expression Herman saw enough of already, a pout that is, but she stepped up the game in Anime clichés and crossed her arms, that having the negative side effect of her bosom being pushed out.

`` Sighing would just be a waste of time now…´´, he muttered. `` Well Kongou, let me guess you want to hug me or something. Am I right? ´´

A friendly chuckle set in form her side and she replied: `` Yay! ´´

The fast battleship did not even wait for his answer, only repeating her trademark chant of ''Burning Love!'' as she hugged him closely. Hermann did not really react all too surprised as he half-way expected her to do something like this. He waited for a few moments, then pushed her away, she did not really resist the push as she was already satisfied by having the chance of hugging him.

`` Happy now? ´´, Hermann asked.

`` Yeah! ´´, was her answer, not adding anything to it.

Hermann put on a smile and pulled of the cap of the Whisky bottle, revealing the cork. Subsequently he pulled it out and an elegant, well-aged fragrance made its way through the room and into everyone's nostrils. The soothing sherry was well received, many of them put on a delighted expression.

Not wasting time, Hermann took the first noosing glass and started to fill a dram of Whisky into it, repeating the same action afterwards until the four glasses he brought with him were full. He handed them over to Kongou, Haruna and Iowa, the fourth one for him. He said that he could get more from his bungalow, but the Akizuki-class destroyers said that they don't need a reward for helping out the Admiral and therefore refused his offer. Hermann was somewhat relieved of that since he truly did not want to drive home, but a sense of politeness was branded into his work-ethics.

So, not having to do such an arduous job, Hermann was now able to enjoy a good dram of the eighteen years old Scottish Whisky. He moved his nose closer to the glass, tilting it a bit so that the scent of the Whisky could enter his nose with full force. The 46% of the spirit added up to the intensity of the tasting.

The first sniff was accompanied with a full-blown sherry attack, but due to the long age this spirit spent in a cask, the sherry was very mature and did not lack elegance due to his intensity. Accompanying it were several fruits, foremost plum, orange and cherry. The second trial revealed more of the complex fragrance as chocolate and vanilla were added into the fray. After having analysed it with his nose, Hermann proceeded to take a sip of it.

As it entered his mouth, a warm feeling arose, and he started to feel the 46%, but it was not harmful in any way, it rather invited you find out its secrets. Sherry was especially strong, the aforementioned fruits therefore spreading through his mouth. But then he found more, that being something similar to cake and a bit of oak. _Oak is new, that's interesting._ The after taste was also very delightful, adding sherry, fruits and a bit of the oak into a delightful fusion.

After he finished Hermann took a look towards the ship girls, who have waited a bit since they were not completely sure on how to tackle this spirit, but after they watched Hermann sniffing it out, all of them followed suit. This of course was somewhat planned by the German Admiral, for he now can see the delighted faces of people when they try a good Whisky for the first time. Seeing this unfold before his eyes drew a smile onto face, showing how emotional Hermann can get when it is about his favourite alcoholic beverage. Many people would say that he is taking these things to far, but he would normally counter them with saying that is akin to a hobby and if they dare to put this on a level with abusive drinking, then he would squash them up.

After the ship girls finished their drinks, Hermann took the glasses back and asked: `` So ladies, how was it? ´´

Iowa was the first to speak: `` Well, when you talked so emotionally about it back then, I thought that you were just overstating things, but I have to be honest here. It was freaking amazing! Compared to the shit I they had in Guam this is pure gold. ´´

The two other battleships agreed with her and told him that this Whisky was indeed very good. The delighted man, which Hermann now was after having a good dram, put the bottle and glasses back into his desk, since he had no real way of washing them here besides the toilets. Kongou and Haruna said that they now had to go back to their sisters and train a bit, so Hermann and the rest waved them a goodbye and returned to their tasks at hand, to which nobody really looked forward too. But after sitting down, he was quick to realize that there now was a new problem: His overprotective bodyguards.

All four of them stood now in his room and were waiting for some sort of command form the Admiral. Hermann tough just wanted to finish his work and so he made it quick: `` I'll be honest from the beginning…. You don't need to protect me all the time, we are here in our base and not in some goddamned warzone, where around every corner someone wants to enlighten you about Allah's glory. And if some vile and defiant ship girl attacks me, I too know how to handle them. ´´

`` Bb-ut Admiral! We can't let that pass, you saw how monstrous this flat-chested aircraft carrier was! She would have really attacked you, if we hadn't stopped her! ´´

`` I don't believe that she would have had the balls to attack her commanding Admiral, otherwise I would have scrapped her, and I am not just saying that. Back when I was commanding in Germany I had to deal with a few self-entitled individuals, who thought that they were something special because this and that… Even in school you will see a shit-ton of these bastards, but after all these years I have found out one specific thing, which is that they easily crack down under pressure from above. In that case, threaten them enough and they will back off. You saw how she left after I loomed over her, adding up to that was the other girl with her as she was desperately trying to stop her from getting at me. In that case she was pinched in between the hammer, me in that case, and the anvil that was the other girl. ´´

Slightly taken aback by his harsh words Akizuki replied: `` Still, with people like her you can't be so sure all the time! What if she actually punched you square in the face? Ship girls are a lot stronger than normal human beings, so even if she restricted her power, you would have gotten into hospital! ´´

`` And she would have got scrapped afterwards, like I said the human instinct is the strongest when life is threatened. We have had two confrontations up until now and I think that she is aware of the fact that I hold the power here, moreover she is most likely just trying to be a bit defiant. Like a teenager or so, but that is a topic for later on. ´´, he answered.

This time Suzutsuki stepped out from the gang: `` Then, if you are uncomfortable with all of us protecting you, then at least let one of us remain with you! ´´

He was about to reject her plead when Iowa butted in: `` Admiral, don't just outright reject those fine ladies! Don't ya know how to handle a lady? ´´

A sigh of Hermann followed, and he answered: `` Jesus Christus, fine then. If you won't complain any more than so be it, but for now I would like to finish my work! So you girls are going to sort things out about who is going to ''protect'' me and then see the chosen one to my office. Do we have a deal? ´´, he stretched his arm towards Akizuki.

`` Yes, admiral! ´´, she replied in a confident voice.

Soon after the four girls left his office and Hermann slumped back into his chair, accompanied with a standard ''Jesus Christus''. Iowa immediately saw this opportunity to tease him a bit: `` Hmmm. Admiral are a few girls with needs to much for you? How will you then command us? ´´, she said her questions with a playful voice.

`` Von allen guten Geistern verlassen…´´, he muttered in German. `` Well, I don't want to hurt their feelings I guess, could have just told them to fuck off or even worse. If you doubt my leadership, you can gladly visit high command and fill in a complaint, but better be wary of the consequences. ´´

`` Jeez, don't take everything so seriously, I thought you were always open for a joke or two….´´, she replied while being taken a back for a bit.

This time Hermann chuckled at her response: `` I always am, and you just were part of one. ´´

`` Admiral, you have got some very morbid humour there… ´´

`` Not the first one to tell, but things won't be changing over here. Let's change the topic then, how far have you come with the applications? ´´, he added with an inquisitive expression.

`` Well, most of it is already done, only the stove and the bread slicing machine are still left. But do we really need a bread slicing machine? ´´, she asked him.

A chuckled was the response, then Hermann answered: `` I doubt that you had to live through that hell of not having perfectly sliced bread for your salami but let me tell you this: It sucks! My whole life up until I left for academy! Such chaotic times! Even just thinking back will sent shivers down my spine! ´´

`` Okay…. ´´, she responded clearly confused by his exclamation, but didn't take it all too seriously.

Work went on and Hermann turned his speakers on again, letting Led Zeppelin again fill the room with their rocky tunes. Five minutes into working and suddenly the next interruption came, as to tall woman in somewhat skimpy clothes entered the building. Hermann looked up and identified them as battleships from their height. He already knew that they were ship girls, not only since he scanned them upon entering, but also because no one in their right mind would wear such clothing.

`` Good day ladies, what can I do for you? ´´, Hermann responded while taking a good look. Girl number one, she stood in front of the other one and gave off a commanding aura, had long black hair and red eyes. Girl number two's hair was brown and shorter, held in some kind of hair style which Hermann could not really identify. Her eyes thou were in an olive green and for once looked rather normal. Additionally, both of them wore some kind of head gear, most likely sensors.

The black-haired ship girl replied in a stern voice: `` First battleship of the Nagato-class, Nagato! Ready for your orders admiral! ´´

After her short but intense words, Hermann saw something that was all too familiar with him and that was his favourite activity: Sighing! So was the behaviour of the girl behind Nagato as she heard her most likely sister ship utter these words. Hermann threw a smile at her and she responded back with one. Then she stepped forward to Nagato: `` Nee-san can't you see that the Admiral is doing paper work right now? Don't be so worked up on the first day… ´´

She tough remained steeled and answered to her sister: `` Mutsu, if we rest now this war will be lost! We need to strike them hard and fast, so that they will never be able stand back up again! ´´

`` While I will give you fundamentally right about the ''how'' when tackling the abyssal threat, we have to confront on a strategically level and not only rely on tactics. Alexander managed to carve out an empire through constant battling and defeating his adversaries, but upon return he soon died and thus left his great empire in shambles. From this we learn that constant pressing on is as much a military failure as not doing it all the time, you have to take the fruit when it is the ripest. ´´, Hermann replied. `` But leaving this lesson besides for now, you can clearly see that I am currently filled to the brim with annoying paper work, meaning that even if I wanted to sent all of you sorting, I wouldn't even now where to sent you since I poor man don't even have a strategic map at hands here, Jesus..´´

`` B-but Admiral there must be something for your Secretary ship to do! ´´, Nagato replied in a somewhat sad way.

Hermann was about to ask what in the name of god a freaking secretary ship is in that case, as his mad mind already pointed out her image of him riding piggy back on her while sorting. This of course was more than just ridiculous, so he wanted to make sure of what it actually is. But when the German was about to ask here, Mutsu countered from behind and urged him through a distinctive expression to just say yes. Hermann followed through and nodded, not wanting anymore distractions. Only now he would need to find a job for her to do that would not need his supervision or signature. He thought for a while, then replied: `` Fine if you are so gung-ho about doing something here for me than you can inform all the other ship girls that they shall meet up with me at the training docks at around 9 a.m. And afterwards you will… ´´, he stood up and walked over to Iowa, who up until now wasn't even been recognised by Nagato, only Mutsu greeted he with a small handwave, and took her already finished papers: `` ….hand these over to the central office for logistics. ´´

Nagato, not really aware of Iowa's appearance up until now was slightly surprised, she even was about to shriek, but managed to supress the urge. Unwary of the other girl she asked her: `` Uhm, and who are you then? ´´

Iowa chucked again and answered: `` First ship of the Iowa-class battleship series, thus my name is Iowa! ´´

`` Wow, an American here might cause some problems….´´, Mutsu uttered.

`` After humiliating us and killing out people, you still hunt us down! Why can't you just leave us! ´´, Nagato got emotional and blurted that one out.

Not being the one let something like this slide, Iowa replied: `` Are you fucking kidding me?! Your people started the war with attacking us on our soil back then! How in your right mind are you able to portray my nation as the aggressors here! And back to the case of ''killing our people'', just take a look to what you did in Korea, China and the freaking Philippines, that is what I call massacre-galore! ´´

`` You insolent little….. If America back then would not have branded their views onto everyone, then we would have not had any need to attack you! And how can you justify the nuclear attacks?! ´´, Nagato shot back.

`` Are you insane now? I am just asking, but I am not so sure after what I have just heard you saying, but weren't your people the ones oppressing other nations? And regarding the nuclear weapons-´´, she was cut off by Herman: `` Could you just fucking seize this senseless squabble for now?! Taking a sterile look back at history we find that pretty much all major wars were based on conflicts of interest from both sides. Especially regarding both world wars, a stupid and emotional discussion in my office here won't bring you any solutions, so do us all a favour and keep the stressing until later! ´´, Hermann bowled while slamming his hand down onto his office desk.

His deep voice still resounded through the room and had the for him wonderful effect that both sides stopped insulting each other. His expression was still quite angered, and he looked them down with heavy stares. Even a tough battleship would crack under the psychological pressure and so Hermann was able to stop this conflict form escalating. Additionally, to fights like these being something that he would not tolerate, historical discussions which are only built up on emotional claims are a sore to his eyes.

Mutsu broke the bouldering silence: `` We will be going then….´´ She did the only sensible thing here and took the applications and left the room with her sister. Hermann walked back into his chair and Iowa fell back into the couch from which she stood up before but accompanying her slipping back with a ''Jesus''.

`` Say that twice… ´´, Hermann added. `` Not only was this completely insensible to do, but she also ignored one of my fucking commands…. ´´, he turned to Iowa and lifted his arms, showing three fingers: `` Three things I asked them to follow up to: Do not insult me for no reason, do not fight your peers for no reason and do question my authority if needed to! Two of those have already been violated! ´´, he slumped back into his chair after venting a bit of anger: `` Jesus, but I can't expect the same from them as I would from soldiers. Lacking the mentality, while having another mentality for it. In that case I will have to find a solution for these problems… Iowa as a ship girl what do you think about these matters? ´´

`` I think that she is a freaking cunt! ´´, she replied.

Hermann scratched his at her sharp words: `` Well that was not what I wanted to hear…. But tell me how were you treated as a ship girl in Guam? ´´

`` Hmmm, not really much to say here, I guess. Got treated like any other person, more a soldier than anything else. Either they didn't know or just did not give a fuck about it, personally I think that it was the letter, because I don't quite look like your typical soldier. ´´

`` Well, why I understand such acting and since you are quite a lovely person so to speak, doing it that way make more sense, but after meeting a few of the other ship girls, I'd have ten or so of them crying around and so on, things I do not really want to happen. Leaving me with more confusion than when I started, I will just have to improvise from girl to girl then. ´´

`` Probably right! And thank you for the compliment, Hermann! ´´, she returned smirking.

Hermann scratched his head and said back: `` While I appreciate your appreciation, I would prefer it for you to just call me Scipio or Admiral. Should have said it before, but you I wasn't given a chance… Well I won't be using my real name here for security reasons and such, but Alex decided to blow the bomb and tell ya' outright…´´

`` Yeah, yeah won't be happening again…. But pray tell, why are you using that cover name? I don't think that there is a vile war criminal called Hermann running around and doing shit like allying with the Abyssals. And your name is not embarrassing or such, just hard to pronounce for some…´´

`` Dear, if I could tell you the reasons as for why I am using this cover name, there wouldn't be a motive to use it at all, but I can tell you just a bit: It is more for just the protocols than anything else like turning everyone against me. ´´

`` So just the normal bureaucratic shit then? ´´, she retorted, putting a finger to her lips.

`` Correct, nothing major. ´´, Hermann lied. _Of course, that is not true, as my name is quite well known after it was exposed to the enemy because of a folly that I made myself. If they were to find out that I am the new admiral around here, we would be having a fiery party here in about ten hours so to speak. Additionally, I don't know how much the Japanese military brass knows about this dubious Hermann, who keeps killing and raping Abyssals, but I am pretty sure that they are aware of enough of my deeds to justify kicking me out from here._

Hermann put aside some of the papers and pulled out a small bottle of cheap airport brandy and chugged down a bit, Iowa of course saw this and eyed him puppy style. Reacting to it in a chill manner, he tossed it over to her, telling her to just keep it as it was already close to being in a state one could certainly describe as empty. The real reason tough, for which he put aside his papers was that he actually just finished them and would move on to the next task, which was not revolving around more office work.

`` I'll be gone for now, trying to defuse the bomb that was about to explode in my office minutes ago. Just wait here, will be back in about half an hour or so…. ´´, he waved her goodbye.

`` Ahh, you are trying to calm down the cunt then….´´, she replied while sprawling out on the couch.

`` Jesus, just try acting friendly later on…´´, Hermann added while leaving.

He walked down the stair case, when he suddenly propelled his fist against the concrete walls. While being impressive for a human, this force was the minimum he could let loose when angered. And angered he was. Keeping up with all these Shenanigans will be a rock face of immeasurable height for him to climb. Idiotic quarrels, keeping him form finishing a not all too beloved task and just flat out attacking him are things he was not quite fond of. Such behaviour is what he would expect from half-drunk soldiers or freaking teenagers, and while some of them certainly are teenagers, this is still a military organization here and not some summer holidays fun park. He hated that behaviour back then in school and he still does now, aging won't change a thing here. Even a person like Homura, being complete out of mind and over attaching, he could tolerate with more ease. And yes, while events like these can entertain him, overdoing it will just lead to a burning rage with in him.

Not wanting to cause anymore suspicion, he moved along and tried to forget about it for now, but since he wanted to talk with Nagato about her behaviour, Hermann won't be escaping this hell. He left the building with a grim expression through the front door, then turning to the pier and pulling out his smartphone, where he stored a picture of the map he handed over before. He gave Nagato the task of informing the other girls about the next meeting and a stack of paper that should be delivered to the office of administration. He will be checking there later on, but for now Herrmann will head to the training area, where he expected her to be right now. While walking, he pulled out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from his trousers and lighted it, then putting the thing into his mouth. Proceeding with a deep pull, he let the satisfying smoke enter his artificial lungs, where it would not really damage anything at all. Just the like the drinking, this was another habit from when he was a normal human.


	6. Chapter 6

**Written finals are over, so writting can finally step up in the importance game again.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Beast of Bourbon**

`` The third one then…Meaning that I have just reached Defcon 3 on my anger scale, simply wonderful. But to be honest, I guess that I am just overreacting like always in that sense. Nevertheless, if I have to endure such bullshit all day long, one shouldn't wonder about my annoyance then… ´´, he said while lighting his third cigarette.

As he walked down the pier, closing in to the training area, something rather awkward happened. That being the appearance of a certain super-dreadnought, who through some unexplainable reasons, did not spend the night at the battleship dorm and now had to justify herself in front of her sister for some reason that was still unknown to Hermann. He thought about dropping in and greeting them, maybe he could find something in this discussion to entertain him, but as he walked closer to them, he saw the distressed expression of Fusou, pretty much telling him: This is not a good situation to butt in!

Not being in the mood to cause any more problems and given the chance to avoid stupid conflicts, Hermann dashed back and continued to walk down the pier again. Training area was a few hundred metres away from his current location and from reading his papers he knew that there are different sections there. For once they have a specialised academy-like building were theoretical stuff and tactics are discussed, other than that most of that area is designated for live experience, including a lot of ocean-terrain for such purposes. He did not know if there even were a lot of ship girls to begin with, as he slowly remembered that a fifth of them or so were injured from a former operation. Still hoping that this would not lead to a dead end, Hermann went on and threw such doubts into the back of his mind. Right now, he more annoying thoughts of things not going his way are not what he really needs, as he was not looking forward to the discussion he is going to have with Nagato later.

Brimming with artificial hope he set foot into the training area and started a pondering-session of where she could be right now. Hermann then decided to just ask someone here if they had seen her, but just as he expected not many were around and most of them were doing something. As someone who dislikes being interrupted, he did not choose to do the same and just continued to be on look-out as he wandered through the area. A few minutes passed by, nobody miraculously showed and so he decided to throw his vows away after having recently made them.

He entered a building that was marked on the map as a dockyard, even though it did not truly represent your standard dockyard as it looked more akin to an armoury. But as he entered it, things started to make sense again as he was greeted with an opening leading to the ocean and several machines to quickly outfit the ship girls with their gear. And for once Hermann was struck by luck as he saw the two Nagato-class battleships being part of a heated discussion with two other ships. Hermann could identify one of them, her being Suzuya, the other one however was unknown to him, but since she wore things akin to Suzuya he just assumed that she was her sister. Former mentioned argument was not really one, rather the being some kind of shit talk between Suzuya and Nagato.

Not in the slightest interested into their topic, Hermann just interrupted them by tapping Nagato onto her shoulder. In succession the battleship yelped from surprise, leading to a respectable number of chuckles not only coming from Suzuya, but also from Mutsu. Her sister just sighed. Hermann on the other hand joined the chuckling, but not to an extent like Suzuya.

`` Well, Nagato could I have your attention for a short notice? We need to talk about certain things now. ´´, Hermann said.

`` Yes, Admiral! You would have my full attention, but as it is right now, this brat here is causing some trouble. ´´, she returned.

`` I am doing nothing wrong here! Admiral, you have to believe me! ´´, Suzuya retorted in an intentionally overreactive manner.

This time Hermann sighed with his standard two second sigh that was accompanied by shaking his head. `` What is the problem here then, skip the details and just get to it as there is still paper work waiting for me. ´´

`` Affirmative, I saw her consuming alcoholic beverages during a training session. After I confronted her about it and told her that there would be a meeting tomorrow she started to get aggressive. ´´, Nagato explained.

`` I got aggressive?! You have to be kidding me?! ´´, she looked at Hermann: `` She went full haywire when I took a sip of it and then even stole my drink. And that was not even enough! She then told me there would be a meeting tomorrow in the morning! ´´

`` I just did what was right and your foolish, child-like antics are really not fit a for a Heavy Cruiser. Admiral, here is what I have confiscated. ´´, she handled him a small bottle of Vodka.

Hermann took a good look at it and then replied: `` First things first. Suzuya, how in the name of Christ did you manage to steal this small bottle from my freaking sports bag? I am not fond of surprises and getting my shit robbed away is one of such surprises. ´´, he turned to Nagato: `` Has she shown any signs of drunkenness? ´´

`` Aa-hmm no , Admiral…´´, she returned with a bit of stuttering.

`` Then leave her be as she is not causing any problems. Additionally, from what I heard is today a day-off because of a former battle that did not go all too well, therefore you should actually praise her for being here. So, for all of you, don't cause problems and you can handle things your own way around here. ´´

Suzuya was about to declare victory, but Hermann interrupted her: `` Still, won't change the fact that you stole my booze and while I am pretty chill compared to other people in the military brass, I can't tolerate things like that, so you will…´´, he took the stack of papers form Mutsu and pushed them towards her: `` bring these things to the office of administration and hand them in. And I think that 9 a.m. in the morning is not a time someone should complain about or do you want to get there even earlier? And now hush, hush fly with the wind as I am not in the best of moods right now. ´´, he pushed her away, emphasizing his intent with a hand wave.

Not being content with his rude behaviour, the heavy cruiser was about to shoot back, but her sister Kumano, who up until now did not utter a phrase also had enough, with something different however. So, she continued her silent treatment of the whole ordeal and just grabbed her sister at the shoulders, urging her to leave it be. While Suzuya was not really looking forward to the task at hand and would rather continue to annoy Hermann with some stupid one liner, she also did not want to cause an escalation, so she complied and went away with her sister, now leaving Hermann alone with the two battle ships.

`` A true show of strength, if I might say so Admiral. While you could change things about your rather lash rules here, you are on a good way to achieve true excellence! ´´, she commended him, but contrary to what she valued as true excellence, Hermann most likely thought different. Therefore, he was more pissed off with her words, but after having to deal with pesky teachers for eight years and not ending up murdering them, something like that won't put him out of the act.

`` Listen, Nagato we are gonna have a nice talk under now, just you and me, so…´´, he looked to Mutsu: `` Could you hand her over for a moment. ´´

About to complaint about how he handled her like a child, Nagato was about to discipline the admiral, but before such an event could happen, her sister managed to call her off and kept her in reins for now. `` Well, dear sister you heard the admiral… ´´, she answered in a pondering manner, but followed the indirect order of Hermann and walked away silently. In a moment of his acted unawareness, she turned back and whispered to her sister ship: `` Nagato, don't kill him…´´

Giving no answer, the somewhat stoic ship girl remained in place and waited for the discussion to begin. Having at least some courtesy, Hermann waited for Mutsu to get out of hearing reach but didn't bother to do a quick scan as in the end he really did not give a flying damn about it. With this temporarily goal achieved, he turned back to Nagato and this time analysed her more extensively. Quite tall for a woman, about 184 centimetres, her body was rather muscular, not particular or anything, but you could still see it pretty well, and her somewhat skimpy clothing did not do much against hiding it. Like all the other BBs he met until now, she too had an impressive rack to show off and accentuated it with her questionable clothing choice, not that he had a problem with it though. Her head was downed with two red eyes and long, straight jet-black hair. Also, there was some kind of radio/radar device on her head, but since he saw these things many times now, he was not surprised. Concluding his short analysis which through his increased processing speed took up to no time, Hermann then said: `` Cutting it short now, not wanting to waste more time. You have a problem with Iowa, I can somehow understand the notion, but all in all you are going to have to put up with her for now. ´´

Not taking the answer all to pleasant, she replied with a stern voice: `` Admiral, you can not seriously expect me to follow up. ´´

`` I am just doing that, miss. I can't have any quarrels disrupting the integrity of this fleet. See it as an order then, if you need one. ´´, he said back.

`` I cannot agree with your judgment, admiral. You are not a Japanese, so you cannot understand the pain we suffered from such a humiliation…´´, she paused for a moment: `` But as a fellow ally of the war, you as a German should now best. Tell me, are you not bitter about losing? Are you not bitter about your country ending up as nothing more than a playing field for two world powers? ´´

Cracking his artificial neck, he then returned: `` Yes, I am bitter about it. ´´

`` See, so why are not on our side her- ´´

`` I am bitter, yes that I definitely am… But not for such superficial reasons like the third Reich falling. A country that was driven by a rotten ideology, nothing more than pushing the blame on others instead of tackling problems head on. The treaty of Versailles was unjust, there is nothing to discuss here. Many native Germans were captive in foreign lands, put under the squeeze of these new governments. And yes, there was the Zionistic movement in correspondence with the declaration of Belfour, most Jews in the Kaiserreich though were German just like me, there is no blame to be found. Leaving away the whole socialist part, an abhorrent ideology on its own, the profound boldness and untactful act of Hitler spelled doom for the Third Reich. I am not here to make apologies about the atrocities committed by the SS or Gestapo, no, this bitterness is the accumulated bitterness of the whole German populace for having to carry the blame up until now for a crime that the majority did not commit. It is just political playing here, push the blame, rearrange the past and the sheep will follow you. ''History is just what the victors decided it to be'', don't know if Napoleon said it like this, but the sense still remains and applies up until now. Why were the Soviets never blamed for their atrocities, why never the British and why never the Americans? Easy, they won. ´´

`` But my bitterness is not something solely stemming from this principle, if we had won the war, things would have been reversed in the peace conferences. What aggravates me is the willingness of my people to put up with it! Not doing anything against it to hopefully not anger papa NATO, but times are different now as things have changed. Freed from the shackles of international alliances and again put into a crisis we rose from the ashes. Commitment is what I see and what it should have always been. As mentioned before, I am bitter, but these feelings stem from the losses of so many lives that were not only made in vain but also are intentionally being hidden. ´´

`` I cannot remember his name right now, but there was one pilot of the Luftwaffe who fought against the bomber raids on German soil. He shot down some planes and ran out of ammo, leaving him with nothing. The bombers however were still there, ready to kill the ones he loved and cared for. So, he activated the radio and said to the guy flying with him: _I am out of ammo, gonna ram my plane into them. See you in Valhalla._ If I were in the same situation, I probably would have not acted in such a way, but this man showed commitment beyond the norm, giving up his life for the ones he loved. He most likely did not know about the Holocaust or other crimes, this was not due to some twisted ideology, he just wanted to save his loved ones. Pure commitment. ´´

`` And through such commitment I feel bitter, people like him are just being forgotten and would have never reached the light of day if not for today's circumstances. Believe it or not, the same applies to the Soviet soldiers, the British soldiers, the Japanese soldiers and also the American soldiers. How can you blame them? They fought for their country and showed commitment for something that is greater than themselves! Do not judge them, judge the ideology behind them and people in power. Now however, none of these people and their ideologies exist. National socialism is reduced to just a few skin heads shouting around, communists are pretty much the same. ´´

`` What all of these statements now concluded is that you should not put the blame on people who did not partake in these acts, for God's sake she is a goddam battleship! How in the name of Christ is she to be put at blame! Listen, I don't expect you to like her, become friends with her or anything else. For now, however, just tolerate her, fight with her and put up with her. In the end, it was your government ordering her to stay here. ´´, he paused: `` Jesus, you got me emotional there…..´´

Nagato, seemingly taken aback a bit by Hermann's emotional outburst slowly regained her senses and replied: `` A-admiral that was intense…. ´´, she sighed: `` Fine, I will at least try to tolerate her for now, but if she even dares to cause trouble here, I will not hold back. ´´ Her sternness and her proud posture returned. `` One topic tough is still undiscussed, Admiral. ´´

`` Pray tell, I took some of your time and now take some of mine. ´´

`` When I entered your office, I saw the American working on various papers. Would this mean that she is your secretary ship? ´´, she asked him, with a lot of internal pressure coming from her.

Hermann read the situation and to his fortune, he did not need to asspull anything or even lie, as she was just helping him out: `` Don't you worry, Iowa was doing me some favours. Filling out applications and such, you see so nothing to worry on that front… ´´

`` Good, then I will be in your service as Secretary Ship then. I'll be in your care, Admiral. ´´, she replied with a subtle bow.

 _Jesus, not leaving me a choice then, but fine she seems good enough to help me put with several paper work tasks and her natural aura could make her a good flag ship in that sense. Just hoping that her pride won't get in the way of my style of handling things in battle._

`` Fine, don't have anything against it… ´´, Hermann chuckled a bit as he was reminded of something form his past: `` Let's do it the proper way then. I am Admiral Scipio, nothing more nothing less, just that name for now. Our battles shall be victorious and our enemies crumble under our feet! ´´, she stretched out his right hand.

Nagato complied and answered his inivation with her right hand too, ending up in a good hand shake. Hermann was surprised by the pressure she applied to the handshake, as most women with which he did the same often did not so. His surprise tough was a genuine one, a strong and powerful shake of hands meant something in his opinion. Parting hands after a few seconds, they returned to a matter from before.

`` Well, now since things are official and all handled, could you then hit me at my bungalow at 8.30 a.m. for the general meeting concerning training arrangements and fleet composition? ´´, he requested.

`` Very well, Admiral. We shall meet at that time then. Is there anything that I could help you with right now? ´´, she asked him.

Hermann put in his right index finger towards his chin and thought for a few seconds: `` Hmmm, you besides the whole paper work that needs my signature and some logistical things which I need to work on, I think you could give me a report of the ones who are still wounded. When I did my little speech, I counted about fifty ship girls or so, meaning that some either didn't care or couldn't leave because of their medical status. Just write down who is out, why and for how long. ´´, he replied.

`` Yes, Admiral! ´´, she saluted energetically and was about to walk away, but Hermann interrupted her as another thought rushed into his head in the short moment of time when she was turning around: `` Do you have a cell phone? ´´

`` Ahhm, yes, I do have one. ´´

`` Fine. Hand me your number than, I will give you mine and then sent the list via mail or so, we can handle things faster that way. ´´, he said while pulling out his smartphone.

Nagato nodded and complied with his proposal, pulling out her phone and quickly unlocking it. She navigated towards her contact list and made a new entry for the Admiral. Herman followed suit, doing the same and after a quick change of numbers they finished the ordeal. `` Good, just get in touch with me when you are done, got some things to do, so I will leave you now! ´´, he called as he left the dockyard.

`` As good as done, Admiral! I will not disappoint you. ´´, she bellowed back as Hermann was already a few metres away from her. Leaving the building, Hermann found himself under the blue autumn sky again, taking in the air he felt a shift of temperature, which was not due to some kind of supernatural shit, but rather to the general autumn climate. He however did not care about such things, even if he wouldn't have turned into a cyborg, the cold weather wouldn't have done anything to him, as he always had been resistant to cold temperatures. In correspondence he indeed hated the summer.

Next goal of operation would be the wonderful task of finishing stupid paperwork, not looking forward to it, but not keen on wasting even more time, the somewhat still annoyed Hermann left the training area and walked back to his base of operations. _Hmmm, what will I be drinking back at home? Drunk a good amount of Scottish whisky on this entertaining day, might as well continue the streak… Though with Bourbon, a bit of a change is always welcomed. Cooking? Well, I have a guest here, so I could quickly do something, but I won't be going to the greatest lengths. Since I'll be hitting a store afterwards, the decision will be made there._

The mood having shifter to ''somewhat acceptable'' he went his way, passing by a few ship girls that he did not know. They nevertheless were so kind to greet him, leading to his response in the form of a quick handshake. Having passed them, he was getting closer to the office. But when things looked like they could somehow end well, disaster would be drawn near. Such was the case as he crossed ways with a certain aircraft carrier, who Hermann threatened to just scrap, if she didn't behave. He was about to draw a cigarette, foreseeing that he might have to contain his anger, but he couldn't even light the thing as she gave off a rather unexpected reaction.

`` I-i-mm s-sorr-y! ´´, she stuttered slightly frightened, bowing at the same time.

`` Jesus, wasn't so hard…. Just know that I won't be holding this against your or anything for the time being but do us all a favour and be a bit more considerate of who you are talking to. ´´, he finally lighted his cig, then went on: `` And all of us will be working together in a better way, merit and success are the things counting here, not some ego trip; but I won't be holding you off for any longer, bye then. ´´, he walked away without getting a reply, but he was expecting as much.

A few minutes of walking later he reached his office, entering through the main entrance and finding his way towards the unlively, grey stairs. Moments of stair-stepping later, he found himself in his floor and walked over to his own office, but he was stopped. Not through some kind of road block or comparable, more due to the arguing that came from his room. _Kidding me, right?_ His thoughts went along as he pulled a bottle of cheap but loved airport brandy from his pockets and chugged down half of it.

Prepared for the worst, he stomped through the door and called out: VERDAMMTE SCHEISSE! What in the name of Christ is going on here right now?! Can't be gone for a few moments without shit hitting the fan again, can't I?! ´´

His sudden entrance immediately payed head and all the participants of the ramble jumped away in surprise as he bellowed into the room. One of them, being close to the door, was affected by it more than outers, as she only closely avoided his deadly door swing, but still got most of the volume straight into her face. When he took a closer look to who was actually involved, he immediately recognised the three main contributors. Iowa, Akizuki and to his surprise, Fusou.

Voices were about to call out, trying to explain the situation to him in way that the other two parties would be at fault. The German admiral however did not have the nerves left for such a teenage hassle and quickly cut them off before: `` Keep it, I don't want to hear any of that now! I have a shit ton of paper work to do and the thing I need least is some irrelevant arguing in my office. ´´

`` B-but admiral, we can't jus-´´, Akizuki tried to argue but got quickly interrupted by the man and his anger issues: `` Christ, yes you can! There is still so much shit left that I have to finish to day and the prospect of not having a well-earned evening for myself is not something I look forward to. So, by the lords or anyone's else mercy, give me a break for just an hour or so and let me finish these annoying papers, of which only half is truly even needed! ´´

Iowa stepped forward: `` You heard him, let's handle these things later on and leave him for bit. ´´

Everyone to different degrees agreed on leaving him alone for now, resulting in the whole bunch of ship girls getting out of his offices, save for Iowa, who was being told by him to wait here in the office until he finished his work. When doing so, he could glimpse a somewhat angered stare from Fusou's eyes that were aimed at Iowa. Connecting the dots, Hermann got the gist of the argument, but the silliness of it only served to annoy him a bit more, as he deducted that this problem would not solve itself and he is going to be the one solving it then.

After banishing these thoughts into the back of his mind he walked over to his desk and sat down on the wheel chair. Notebook opened, headphone jack plugged in and Iowa asked if she would have a problem with a bit more aggressive music, the answer was a "no", he searched through his library, looking for a good tune. Conscious about her being here, Hermann chose something not so fast in the end, making a choice for classical Metallica, Ride the Lightning in this case. Now, with a blast of Thrash Metal, he was able to work a bit faster than if he just did it with no music at all. Additionally, the aggressive tone served to bend in with his current state of mind and slowly carried off layers of his anger.

Thinking about a surreal meme in connection with the former written down word describing irritation, he filled out the first sheet, adding several ticks, numbers and scriptures. Time passed by in an acceptable matter, the paper stack to his right also decreasing in a rather quick manner, he found his mood to flatten down and get back into socially acceptable shape. While paper work could be extremely annoying and boring, it somewhat gave one an escape from reality where the only worries existed of not making mistakes while writing. Just what he needed.

Looking at the time on his smartphone, Hermann found out that it was just about 17.00 o'clock, leading to a faint feeling of joy entering his artificial soul as his self-made promise of having a free evening was just confirmed.

`` All done, let's move our asses out of here! ´´, Hermann exclaimed as he jumped out of the chair.

`` Ahh, I see that your back to not screaming around like a maniac, admiral. ´´, Iowa pointed out as she got up from her position on the couch.

`` Hmm, I feel some sass in your words.. Quite understandable though as I have to admit that my initial reaction was… a bit of an overkill in these regards. ´´, he returned.

`` A bit you say buddy? Christ, you scarred the shit out of nearly half of the girls here when you entered all guns blazing! ´´, she added.

`` Well, what happened won't be just undone and I see that I overdid things back then. So, I hereby apologise for this transgression of social behaviour and hope that it did not dig any trenches between all of us. ´´, he said while extending his right hand for a hand shake.

She sighed a bit at first, but then returned the gesture and shook his hand: `` You at least put some heart into it, meaning that I can accept it. ´´

`` Good, then we shall leave this wretched place of never ending paper work and get going to the next super market as I still need a whole lot of food. ´´

Leaving the office in tandem, they crossed the not so treacherous hallway and came closer to the ever so boring stairs, where a dull tone of grey greeted them. This dull tone however pushed Hermann over the edge and finally asked: `` If I may ask, what was that fuss even about? I can't imagine anything that make somewhat sense despite another war debate. ´´

`` Believe me when I say that there was no sense to it… ´´, Iowa mumbled in an annoyed expression: `` If you hadn't gotten in with your drill sergeant voice, I would have been on your side form the beginning, but that is a different topic. What matters is that this dreadnought ship named Fusou had some kind of deal with you and was freaking out when she saw me lying on the couch. Calling me things like "viscous" or "over sexualizing", then she went on rambling about my wanting to seduce you and shit. Well, me being not one to just take insults like these, stood my ground and exchanged insults with her. Things grew out of hand and quickly the four destroyers walked into office, their leader getting between the front lines and trying to clear this shit up, meaning that they didn't really contribute anything to the argument. ´´

`` Okay and then I barged in I guess? ´´, he asked and received a nod as confirmation. `` Jesus Christus, I will apologise to the destroyers than as their dorms are not far from my bungalow. ´´

`` Yeah! Good choice, admiral. But could you enlighten me about what made Fusou so angry? ´´

Hermann chuckled a bit: `` Sounds like some anime shit to me… So, she literally ran into me yesterday, crashed me down, my wonderful leather jacket good a bit scrapped, I condemned her to helping me with unpacking my things from a container and then I invited her to some good drinking as a way of saying thanks. In short, the booze got the better of her, leading to a drunken dreadnought with a supressed sexual drive. That girl can't pack a punch, I'll tell ya that. ´´

`` Ahahaha! ´´, Iowa bawled out in laughter, nearly falling down the stairs because of it.

Hermann put a hand to his front, indicating a light but friendly face palm, then he joined the fray with a chuckle as he found this situation absurd to an extensive degree, bordering faulty anime tropes in that sense. But his moment of joy was quickly interrupted as that smartphone in his trousers rang off for a short time, indicating that someone sent him a message. He pulled it out and much to his expectations he got a message from Nagato, including an excel document.

 _I'll be looking at it later on, just gonna send her a "thank you" for doing it then._ Hermann thought while typing back but got interrupted by a long message from Nagato where she was trying to apologise for not sending it earlier on. Thus, after passing it with tl;dr, he just wrote that it is not a problem and he is grateful for her work. Putting the sometimes-pesky mobile device back into his trousers, Hermann went back with his mind to a still somewhat laughing Iowa.

`` So she is weak on the booze then, what a pity? ´´, she added in a mocking tone.

Hermann smirked at this comment and replied: `` So you think that you are hot shit when it comes to drinking? ´´

`` Not only when it comes to drinking, but yes admiral, I fancy myself a professional in this subject. Are you implying that you can bring me down in a drinking contest? Admiral you certainly are someone with a lot of drinking experience, I get that form all the booze that you store in the office and the flasks in your trousers. But I am a ship! Sailors drink a lot and therefore I am the epitome of it! ´´, she shouted out with more passion than one could anticipate.

Hermann followed up with a standard chuckle, put his right hand into his khakis and threw a challenging gaze at her: `` Girl, you are years to early trying to bring me down. The image of the drunken sailor may be something iconic, but it is old and with increasing age… They have to make room for the new shit! ´´, he called out: `` As it is right now the absolute epitome of drinking is the good for nothing youth who has too much shit around his neck! Annoying parents who pretend to be role models! Teachers with no sense of reality! Shitty brats disturbing your toilet time in school! Irritating classmates, thinking that they are the hottest shit in the whole world! All of these factors lead to craving for a solution, one that is easily available and good to consume! I am talking about the holy spirits of course! Leading to a puny existence having at least some kind of relaxation! ´´

`` Ahhmm admiral, are you maybe describing yourself here? ´´, she asked with an awkward voice.

`` Hahaha, of course my dear! Walking into the school with a bottle of vodka, then making yourself some "orange juice speciale" for breakfast, what wonderful times! And such I take pride in and won't let someone just waltz in here, trying to talk me down here. You see, I even got nicknames for my behaviour from my fellow drunkards like Sir Drink-a-lot or Beast of Bourbon. ´´

`` That is somewhat depressing, but still your story is truly impressive. I however can not tolerate being put down by, if you take my true age as comparison, some runt! If you speak so highly of yourself, then you won't be having a problem competing with me in a drinking contest! ´´

`` Very well then, I shall show you what I am capable of! ´´, he responded, adding laughter to the mix as he couldn't keep this acting up any longer. When their conversation took an abrupt stop due to both parties ending up in laughter, they also reached the Wiesel in which he drove to the office. Iowa somewhat marvelling at it, but not forgetting the competitive aura which should be around her in this situation, added: `` Nice drive you got there. Compensating for something? ´´

`` Boring lines form the oldest book, expected nothing less from you, gal! ´´, he said back as he jumped into the tankette and wave her to join. Iowa followed suit and got into the Wiesel, then asked: `` Can I drive? ´´

`` Answer me this question then: Have you ever driven something that is even remotely similar to a tracked vehicle? ´´

`` Not really, but it can't be that hard! I am a ship girl, with my peerless control over my combat equipment something like this should not be all too hard to handle. ´´, she responded with a self-assured voice.

Hermann though put on a rather serious face, shook his right hand in front of her and replied: `` Dream on. ´´

She was about to reply to his words, but he timed it correctly and overshadowed her complaining with the reviving of the engine upon starting it. Being sparred however, was only a state that lasted shortly, and he was soon bombarded by her protests. Paying her no heed and answering with standard lines "yeah, yeah", "life's a bitch" and many more, Hermann soon reached a point where she finally seemed to stop caring. Complacent with the situation he pressed the pedal and set of with the tankette, carefully driving out of the alley from which he found his way to the office earlier on. Next stop would be a super market that he found on the map, where they would buy necessary things like bread, meat and such things. Alcohol too of course as Hermann was not ready to waste his expensive liquor for drinking games. Four bottles of the Russian grain spirit named Vodka will most likely be enough for the fun. You are however better safe than sorry, so Hermann decided on the last notice to buy five bottles. The vodka would have to be cheap of course, as the German would never dare to draft himself away with things you relish in. Cheap booze for liver cirrhosis and expensive liquor for the lifestyle of a connoisseur, that's the way.

Reaching the store on the edge of the base after driving for a few minutes, additionally drawing the gazes of many surprised and intrigued bystanders, he turned around to face the American battleship: `` All right Iowa, this will be the first military operation here in this base for you, so you better listen closely. We need to procure a shit ton of booze so that I can show you who is wearing the pants here and only the most inexpensive vodka is good enough for such a task. Therefore, you will now rush this store and grab five bottles of this grain spirit, than wait for me at the cashiers desk. ´´

`` Putting aside the fact that I will kick your ass in the drinking contest, what will you be doing in the meantime? Slacking around? ´´, she asked with a cocky grin.

Hermann chuckled at her meagre attempt to get a jab at him, then replied: ``Girl, I'll be on the hunt for our food. When drinking vodka there is nothing more pleasant then to eat little snacks, additionally I need basic things like food and so. ´´

Both hopped out of the Wiesel and faced the super market with eyes full if eagerness. Hermann turned his head to her and asked if she was ready for it. Iowa replied loud and clearly that she was never readier than now and would bring a decisive conclusion to this battle. Saluting each other off, they charged the store and walked with confidence through the sliding doors. When entering, Hermann was greeted by a sudden wave of conditioned air, but was not put out of concentration by it, such weak distractions would be brushed away. After activating the sensors in order to get a hint of further distractions in the form of ship girls, he found none of them and went on with a relieved pace. Iowa already left, so he had to quicken up the pace. While his task would be the one with longer duration, the one Iowa had been assigned to is more complicated as she needed to locate the cheapest bottle of vodka.

Passing by the rows of snacks and sweets, the American quickly found herself to be in front of the liquor section where she could gaze at a quite large assortment of various drinks. Her eyes passed form row to row searching for a cheap product, but up until now only medium prized ones got into her fire control system. After having checked half of them, she finally took notice of a bottle that perfectly fitted the criteria of being dirt cheap. Luckily for her five bottles were left, but carrying them would be complicated, not because she wasn't strong enough, as battleship she had unparalleled strength, but rather due to the fact that only two bottles would fit into one hand and if she tried to clamp it in between of them, it would only slip out. Now faced with this dire situation, Iowa darted to the nearest carrying basket and got hold of the plastic object on its black handle. But as she raced back to the vodka and grabbed it, another hand intercepted her. Both of them grabbed hold of it at the same time, leaving no victor and true winner. When both hands touched each other gazes followed suit immediately, revealing to the opponent that because of the head gear their identity as ship girls.

Hermann no sooner after having seen her dart off to the liquor section, took his target into sights and moved on with a quick pace, he was heading for the freezer area where meat and various other things were waiting for him. After having taken the shortest way, carefully avoiding the snack area to not get distracted for now he reached his goal. When he opened the door of the freezer, a cold breeze passed him by and he took various packs of fries and potato wedges. Finished with phase one, he imitated the second one and passed the vertical freezer to the trays where he found several cutlets of meat in front of him. Nothing was spared as he took as much as he could fit into the somewhat already filled up tray that he picked up when he entered the shop. Next on the task list were eggs and milk, but something distracted him instantly as he made his way towards the other section. And that were his sensors

Turning his head, he saw a ship girl entering the market and quickly heading for the liquor section. The mission was in danger now as he could also be searching for cheap vodka and that would surely lead to conflict of interest he'd rather not have here. Thus, he abandoned his plans for chicken and dairy products, giving chase to the girl. He was sure that Iowa would put up a good battle if the still unknown girl was truly interested into cheap booze, but you better never underestimate the enemy in such cases as important things were at stake.

When he reached the battlefield, it had already been to late as he saw two hands clutching at the same bottle of cheap Russian Grain spirit. Faces still had not meet, but Hermann was already changing into his battle mode. Powering up the processors in his artificial body, he found himself to read their body speech much more easily. While he could have just rushed in and grabbed the bottle, this became a not so viable option after thinking about as such actions would only increase the suspicions around the German Admiral. Additionally, he somewhat wanted the situation to escalate.

Now both ship girls faced each other, eyes locked on eyes and both hands were slightly pushing the bottle into their direction. Conflict was about to arise, but the one man who could stop it, rather thought of letting it escalate for his own amusement. Iowa now saw the peril of the situation, as she could not only be interested in one of the bottles, somewhat acceptable, but if she truly desired more than there would be a problem with the drinking. In her opinion it should not make much of a difference, Hermann would surely be down after tanking one bottle, but it is always better to bunk things if you have the chance to. So she decided to speak up to the ship girl: `` Well, I think that we have a conflict of interests here, haven't we my dear? ´´

The opposing girls smirked: `` An American looking for a battle? Don't want to wreck the place here, but if I can't get my weeks due of alcohol then I will be a bit, let's say grumpy. But where are my manners? I am the great Maya-sama, third ship of the Takao Heavy Cruiser class and I will give you one chance to retreat. ´´

Iowa chuckled at her response, Hermann did so too, however was not seen due to him concealing his presence. `` Quite haughty, aren't we? You maybe strong, compared to destroyers that is… But you are facing a battleship here, USS Iowa name ship of the same class in this current situation. So, I think it would be better for me to utter a warning in our little situation here. Not to forget: I have some serious business to do with these bottles and because of this urgency I do not intent to hold back. ´´

Maya put more aggressiveness into her body stance and proceeded to put more strength into her grip on the bottle, Iowa followed suit. Then the Japanese heavy cruiser proceeds with another daunt: `` You may say so, but reality shows that one's worth is determined through merit. You American ship girls shouldn't have been around for as long as we have, so I can respectively say that I have much more experience in combat than you. Be careful, I might just whop your silly ass! ´´

Before things could whole-heartedly escalate, Hermann decided to intervene on his own behalf. While it could be funny to see them destroying the whole store, he would have most likely to pay the costs afterwards. Money would have been the problem, he had enough of it, but letting them do something like that and having to pay for it, would be seen as a failure of merit. Otherwise it would have been fine.

So, with a goal in his mind Hermann stepped forward from the ranks of snacks where he had been hiding beforehand. His presence revealed, both ship girls turned to him, wearing different expressions. Iowa was furthermore sure in her victory, while Maya was downed with a look of surprise. The German increased the tension as he did some kind of Jojo-pose for the lolz, then spoke: `` Girls, girls, girls I see that we have a problem here, but I won't be playing neutral Switzerland here and keep it far from differentiated. ´´, he turned to Maya: `` Maya, we need that good n'cheap vodka for a dispute of our own, about drinking that one is. But as I can see you are quite competitive as well, so I have a good proposition for us all here, like meeting on good terms when signing an armistice: Join us! You look like a strong and tough individual, ready to rock some shit, so why don't you take the chance and enter this drinking competition? I swear, only good things will come out of it? ´´

She took her time thinking about the offer, then put on a smirk: `` Fine! Maya-sama will join you two and is surly going to win here, can't loose after talking so much. But to another thing admiral….´´, she focused more on him: `` Do you know how some call you here? ´´

Hermann crossed his arms and chuckled a bit, then added: `` Enlighten me. ´´

`` Ecchi-Teitoku. ´´she returned with a wide grin.

`` Hmmm, that is quite interesting… Now after hearing you say that, might there have been something I accidently did to deserve such a nickname? Nevertheless, I will cherish it like the others. ´´, he tapped at his chin as he said so.

`` Now I am interested; even though I lack the knowledge to decipher it. ´´, Iowa threw in between.

`` It means something like "pervert admiral" in this situation, am I right? ´´, he asked Maya.

`` Maya-sama congratulates you on this conclusion. But would care to tell the American here of the circumstances leading to it? ´´

`` Hahaha, it would be a pleasure of mine to do so: When I finished something up, I took the liberty to look at my watch and to my peril I saw that I had been a bit lax on time management. That was before I held my speech, meaning that I had to sprint through the base in order to make it in due time, leading to me having to choose a short cut as I wouldn't have made it otherwise. Well, and this shortcut lead through the repair docks, without me knowing that they actually are bathing houses. Keeping it short, I charged through them and pretty much accidently scarred the shot out of many ship girls as I did so. Haven't got a complaint because of sexual harassment up until now though… ´´ , he chuckled when telling the story as the whole situation felt funny for him at that point.

Hermann expected Iowa, who was still unaware of this ordeal up until now, to either do two things. First was to heave a hearty laugh, second was to scold him or something. He hoped for the first option and felt not disappointed as the American battleship literally crashed down unto the floor from laughing. The reaction drew a smile on his face and he joined her, Maya also following them in this joyful endeavour.

`` Hehe, tell me Maya where you present when I sailed over the pools? I hadn't have the time to look back then. ´´, he asked the cruiser

`` Well, admiral I was in the pool when you did that, had a full view of your butt. ´´, she replied with a bit of chuckling as she clapped on his shoulder. Iowa now got the opportunity to get a hold of herself and was luckily able to stand up again.

Hermann turned to her: `` Member that stuck-up bitch that cam into my office all guns blazing and insulted me? ´´

`` Yeah, fuck her though…´´

`` Well now you know the reason for her acting, maybe I also added some salt when I "compared her to a child". Was just pointing out that there were destroyers in the docks and she, self-centred as ever, thought that I meant her. Christ, some people…..´´, he added. `` So, but we better cut the chit-chat and get the drinking going then. Meaning that I will finish my grocery shopping here first. ´´

Hermann continued what he intended to do in the first place, getting chicken dairy products in that case. Maya told them that she would be waiting outside, Hermann added than that she should be doing that besides the Wiesel in order to look cool. The heavy cruiser agreed on his proposal and went outside, while he got the rest from his shopping list. The cashier was mildly surprised when both Hermann and Iowa appeared with several bottles of hard liquor and a family's month ration of meat, in his case most likely only lasting for only a week or so.

Cash paid, bags grabbed, praise earned for the Wiese and the whole stuff sored into the tankette, the trio took off to Hermann's bungalow. Having the same discussion about letting her drive again, Hermann was about to tell Maya to rough her up but ceased this thought in the last moment as he stirred enough that day. Five minutes late they arrived at his "palace" and got out of the Wiesel in order to get the annoying shit, getting the groceries into his house first, done. Three minutes passed and also this task now had been finished.

Hermann was about to make something to eat, maybe show them his cellar(lol) and get some beer going but was reminded on the fact that he still had to apologise to a certain destroyer class. `` Girls, sorry but I will be going for about twenty minutes or so, got to fix the las loose screws around here before I can drink myself to Kingdom Come. The beer is in the fridge, so take a few chugs and have a good time. ´´, Hermann said as he walked towards the front door, leaving it instantly as he did not want to lose more time.

Maya and Iowa followed his trail when he walked outside, waiting patiently for his leave. Then, as he closed the door from outside, Maya stood and walked over to the fridge. She pulled out two Franziskaner Weizenbier, putting on a joyful expression when she first saw them. Two glasses were not added, as she neither knew where they are nor really cared for elegance. Out of the bottle was better in her case. She trailed back, handing Iowa a bottle which she just opened with her bare hands.

`` You know, I really like this beer. We got it served on a day off in a bar of sorts, then pestered Mamiya until she added it to her menu. Those Germans really know how to brew a beer….´´, she said after taking the first sip.

`` Well, I have never been that much of a beer drinker, the cheap beer back in the states was enough for in that sense. Let's see how this one tastes…´´, she took a sip: `` Well, I did not expect this. Quite sweet and totally different than what I am used to, but pretty good if I am being honest. ´´

`` Hah, knew it! You have got good taste if ya like it, having about twenty bottles or so left her is also good in that sense. ´´, Maya replied.

Iowa put a finger to her chin and uttered a thought: `` Well, he is quite a drinker so…! There might be a huge amount stockpiled here! Wanna go on a little search here? Looking for booze, maybe he accidently forgot to put his porn mags away or so. Wouldn't it be funny to somehow find them and get him embarrassed or so? ´´

`` Gal, I like ya thinking here. Let's get this going then, don't wanna waste time as he will back in about twenty minutes or so, if he is punctual that is, but after having him rushing through the docks in order to not be late, that will most likely be the case. ´´, she replied and chugged down the whole beer bottle. Iowa followed suit, then got up and started their little tour around his bungalow.

Hermann, not being aware of those two plotting against him behind his back, walked along with not much care in the world, just looking forward to finishing today's business and then to drown himself into the endless pleasure that drinking is. Things could have gone in many better ways, but he faced more dire situations back then in Germany, so while it did not feel to him like child's play and he got close to a true outburst of anger, he decided to say "ahh, fuck it" in order to get on. While he was doing so, trailing along that was, he already knew that someone was watching him from the shadows, if there were even any to begin with as his surroundings consisted mostly out of concrete buildings and such, but one could very well fit into a slit or so. He was about to call the person out, but the German received a message on his smartphone before he could do so.

Looking at the display, the message told him to turn around and face the person. Putting one and one together, Herman now knew very well who his stalker was. The term "stalker" fitting very well in that case as he sniffed up her presence through the day but chose to not care as more important jobs still had to be done. Said person was not right in the head, by normal standards, but standards, morale's and philosophies are quite relative to the individual. Hermann, belonging to the category of not being so normal, took this as a maxim for his life, not restricting himself with any society-imposed laws, he returned to the origin of the human spirit which is to advance. On how to achieve this "advance", he was not so sure about, Rome however was not built in one day.

`` Took you quite a while to contact me. I personally reckoned you to do it earlier when concerning your acting from before. Well that doesn't matter now, past is past and can't be changed. ´´, Hermann turned around and uttered his comment.

Just as expected, the person following him around was the mutant/special-forces member Homura, who had quite a distinct relationship with the German, not of the mutual kind in that sense. He liked her, there were no problems coming from that front, but not as someone to spend the rest of his days with. Marriage, even the slightest hint of being in a relationship were dead issues to the Admiral, bonding with someone and in that sense being not completely autarch are issues he cannot cope with.

`` Hmmm, darling, Hermann or Admiral? How should I call you, I ask myself…..´´, she returned as he waltzed towards him, her hair flowing a bit in the autumn's breeze.

Hermann chuckled a bit: `` Just keep it at a cordial level for now, we won't like to have any problems here from the start on. Call me Admiral when in official meetings and when ship girls or colleagues are around my code name Scipio will your choice, my dear. ´´, he accentuated the last words in order to get some teasing out of her.

But that turned into the other direction: `` "my dear" you say? Are you maybe solidifying something here, darling? Why aren't we talking about marriage then? ´´

Herman laughed more: `` Girl, girl I think that you just set the record of getting to high on your horse in that sense. Words are yours to interpret, but you would be doing me favour by not interpreting them like an abstract painting. Impressionistic would do better in that regar-´´, he face palmed as he forgot that he wasn't just here for festive frolicking: `` Homura, even now I still have things to do. There are some ship girls I have to apologise to for unintentionally scarring them with an outburst of mine. ´´

`` Chasing after girls…I see…..´´, she frowned, let her head fall down so that her hair would be covering a majority of her face.

`` Stop the acting, this isn't Mirai Nikki here after all. If you want to, you may follow me on this task. ´´, he added.

She returned to a standard expression, being a bit faithful in that regards: `` While I would love to take a walk with you on this magnificent autumn evening, maybe even hand-in-hands, there is sadly also something for me to do. Using your words "keeping it short", there are some people in this country who think that it somewhat cool to worship the enemy as their war gods or so….. ´´, she stopped in mid talk.

`` Leaving it me for the finish? ´´, she nodded at his question. Hermann went on: `` Well, let me guess they have some influence then. Be it of economic matters or political. Even if they are just a terrorist group, causing inner instability is quite a problem, even so in our times now. Meaning that you have to eliminate them, ripping out the root before anything serious can happen. Understandable, we had a similar case back in Germany, thou it wasn't nearly as ravaging as here. Some dickheads got hold of an Abyssal and housed her like a family member, at first glance it looks like some freaking TV Show. The Abyssal however was deceiving them from the moment on when she got picked up from the shores. ´´

`` Wow, darling you got it nailed down with one hundred percent! ´´, she exclaimed like a kid that just got all A's on her tests. `` But pray tell, how did you deal with them? ´´

`` Normally I wouldn't handle over confident information, but you did the same just right before, so I better keep my checks and balances. I was the one in command of that mission, not partaking in it directly as this wasn't my specific working area, but due to the abyssal presence there I got the job because of my experience with them. Sent in a team of new special-forces, mutants like you to do the job as an Abyssal in land can still be quite problematic for normal soldiers to deal with. Having to erase any evidence of it, we killed off the whole family, captured the Abyssal and then blew the house to pieces with naval artillery, making it look like some Abyssals decided to have some fun time blowing up houses. Worked out in the end and no one got a hint of it. ´´

`` Well, that's harsh and ruff….. just how I want it.´´, Homura purred back at him

With a sigh he continued: `` We did not have another choice in that situation. Just leaving it be wasn't really an option and going in full commando, just sacking the Abyssal would have caused a lot more trouble than a few newspapers calling the navy incompetent for a while. In the end it was a complete success, even got some intel out of the enemy then. ´´

`` We got something similar planned with for this occasion, though I might say that we have bit more complicated parameters here as this group seams to be militant. The catch is not the mission on its own, a few armed civilians shouldn't be that problematic, but rather the fact that the mission will be staged in urban terrain, close to other buildings. Moreover, we even have some leads to the abyssals directly, if they are truly involved than I think that we will be working together soon, darling. ´´, she replied smiling.

He answered with a simple smile, then added: `` Hmmm, would be a blast working with you again. Kamchatka was a nice endeavour, especially the end. I, however, have to take my leave now as otherwise, I might have a lot of issues which will be pilling up on my desk. I wish you a lots of luck and good hunting! ´´, Hermann replied as he took a few steps.

`` Goodbye darling! And don't let these bitches get close to you! ´´, she waved when jogging away.

`` Christ….´´, Hermann sighed as he walked away, staring to worry about how things are going to play out in the future with people like her. Nevertheless, doing so will only dampen one's mood to a flat plain and he did not have anything close to such a state in mind. Striving for entertainment and pleasure, Hermann trailed on, focused on resolving this issue and getting back to the drinking.

Three minutes of boring walking, in a faster pace than normally, later he finally arrived at the destroyer dorm, where he would settle the last objective of the day. The clock ticking on, he entered the building at about 17.50 and had in mind to get things done her at 6 p.m., then he would be back at 18.10 and could mop the floor with those beginners. Yes, correctly seen they are hypothetically older than him and are ship girls in that sense too, but he had been walking this on this plane for about 23 years for now and started drinking after he reached the age of sixteen. Seven years of hard training made him a heavy drinker. The additional fact that he was a cyborg, who could negate the effects of alcohol if needed was added into the fray, but considering the circumstances, namely that his challengers also were types of cyborgs flattened out that quirk of his. He did not worry though in the least, when Fusou consumed a bit more than the average Friday evening beer, she reacted to it like a normal person. Maybe the included that for cost reduction? Having a lot of resistance makes drinking a bit more expensive. Something in the back of his mind told him though that they would be more of a challenge than the normal chap at a bar. Iowa on the on hand had been bragging around all the time aft they had left the office, on the other hand though she might be able to back her words of pride. Maya was quite different in that regard, as he actively grabbed the cheap vodka, demonstrating that she was opting for something to lighten up the mood.

Right now however, he had different things to worry and that was not being called "echii Teitoku" as the destroyers of the Akizuki class could very well be at a completely different place than here. Paying no heed to his black seeing, Hermann entered the building, and as he set foot into it, someone classically stumbled into the man and fell down in succession. Looking down onto the pitiful victim, he identified her as a destroyer-type ship girl with long blue hair, wearing school girl uniform and having some kind of levitating head gear floating around her head. _Christ…. That spells trouble._

The girl retained her composure, took a stinky look at him, though not full of spite, and then got up again, only to scold him: `` What was this?! Would it too much asked for, if you could be a bit more careful? ´´

`` It may very well be in some moments, but as you stated this is not one and therefore I have to apologise for such a transgression. I am the guest here and therefore should behave in a better manner. I am very sorry. ´´, he ass-pulled another of his standard apologies, not having the time for another senseless argument.

`` Hmpph, at least you have the humility to see your wrong doings, still tough Mister Echii-Teitoku I also want some kind of compensation for this inconvenience. ´´, she spoke with a lot of pride.

`` Jesus Christus, let's exchange names first, shall we? ´´

She nodded at his proposal, with a bit of delay though: `` My name is Murakumo, proud destroyer of the Fubuki-class. See yourself lucky for having such a strong ship like me as I have proven myself on the battlefield countless times. ´´

`` Well, my name is already known, but for the sake of politeness I will do it again. I am Admiral Scipio, former Admiral of the German navy, commanded at the second battle of Jutland and led my men to victory. ´´

`` I hope that you can live up to your standards, otherwise we might have to take things into our own hands here. The compensation I asked for…´´

 _Quite pushy, aren't ya?_

He put his hand into the right pocket of this military cargo pants and pulled out another bottle of brandy, making it look like he had an unlimited amount of them. After having it handed over to the destroyer, she was left in a dumbfounded state as the rather innocent girl was not really aware of what resided in the bottle. She opened it, took a snoop and backed away.

`` Ahhhem, are you perhaps thinking that medicine will make a good present, Echii-Teitoku? I don't really think so and I doubt the others will. ´´

Hermann sighed at her ignorance: `` Girl, that is fine brandy, no medicine in it's true sense, but if you want to cure something like loneliness or bad mood, yes you may call it medicine. So yo-´´

He was interrupted by the somewhat obnoxious destroyer: `` Are you assuming that I am lonely!? Let me tell you that I have many friends a-a-nd I am d-definitely not lonely, you idiot! ´´

`` Seems like I struck a nerve…´´, she whispered to himself, not letting her hear of his words. `` Fine whatever call me what you want, I did not come here to argue, just to get something done. I am not getting paid for having fights here with the personnel. So, I will just skip them and get my work done. Wishing you a good day then. ´´, he said when he walked away from her, moving from the entrance area to the dorm section. Murakumo, prideful as she was wouldn't let him get this victory and therefore tagged along, either because she couldn't let that one sit or because she really was lonely.

`` Idiot, you can't just leave and think I will tolerate that! As I said I am unquestionably not a loner, and I want you to accept this. ´´, she bugged him.

`` Fine then.. You are not a loner and I whole-heartily mean those words, saying them without any doubt! May I finish for what I came here now? ´´, he returned.

The destroyer struggled for a bit as she did not expect him to answer in such a direct way, Hermann however, who noticed he reaction saw this as a chance to finally get rid of the nagging girl. So with swift moves the Echii-Teitoku speed up and walked deeper into the dorm section, somehow leaving her behind. The destroyer wasn't ordinary though and her head gear quickly noticed his advance, allowing her to charge and interrupt his advance. With an annoyed scowl she barked at him: `` Hey! Where are you going?! This is not how it is supposed to work out at all….´´

 _Wtf….._ Hermann's thoughts were of short time as he spoke in succession: `` "not how it is supposed to work out"? Are we in freaking light novel here? No, of course not and therefore I know expect you to explain yourself properly or to just leave me alone. I would advise you to do the second one as up until now this day only made my anger and annoyance grow into obscurity, spare it for tomorrow and all of us can be happy. ´´, he added an ironic smile to his words that bordered into creepiness.

`` Ahhm….´´, she found no words at all as he managed again to creep someone out so that he would be left alone to his doings.

`` Wonderful, you made the right decisions my dear, I command you for your judgment. ´´, he returned, this time with a genuine smile.

After concluding this dilemma, he continued his journey through the corridor leading to the dorm he was looking for. There was some kind of register in the entrance area where he was able to locate the room of the Akizuki-class destroyers. Despite having their class name start with A they housed in one of the rooms that were furthest back in the dorm. Not interpreting anything into it, he continued his way towards their room, passing by various rooms but luckily for him nobody registered him or had any interest in socializing, just like him right now as he did not want to make his guests waiting for any longer.

Passing the two-minute mark he arrived at the searched for dorm room of the Akizuki-class, with the mindset of getting this done quickly he knocked onto the door and uttered a quick: `` Excuse me, would all of you have some time for a quick word. ´´

Several shrieks and some bumping could be heard from behind the door, signalling that they were trying to either hide something or were just doing embarrassing things. Hermann though was not interested into such things, waiting any longer would only delay his time table more, so, contrary to his intention, he opened the door uninvited.

A poster sized picture of him was the first thing he saw, then his eyes shifted to a black board where a mission-like report was written on to, afterwards he moved his gaze to Akizuki who was blushing in embarrassment as she tried to hide a stack of papers. The other girls of the Akizuki-class were trying the same things. Teruzuki and Hatsuzuki were pushing not so valuable information into an industrial-grade shredder, whereas Suzutsuki was pushing a box under a bunk-bed.

Hermann slowly massaged his temples while uttering a "Jesus Christus", then the first ship of said class charged over to him and tried to distract the admiral: `` T-th-his is n-not how it l-looks like A-admir-´´

Hermann though interrupted her: `` Seriously, I am quite speechless, but today I don't really want to worry about another thing, so I will just finish that one thing I actually came for. ´´, he paused shortly, allowing him to make a trademark sigh: `` And that is to apologise for how aggressive I was when I stormed into the office an hour ago or so. I heard the story and was being told that you were just trying to calm the situation down instead of being a part of it. Therefore, I can't just let something idiotic being weathered down by time, meaning that in all honesty I am deeply sorry for falsely accusing you and, for whomever stood behind the door, scarring you. ´´

`` Ah-ahm Admiral you don't n-need to a-apologise for t-that…..´´, she stuttered.

`` Look let's make a deal then, you guys forget about what happened in the office and I will try to wash this picture here out of my head with a lot of booze. Then all of us can be happy and we will be able to start a new tomorrow. Does this sound acceptable? ´´

All of them nodded in unison after he spoke his words, leading to him putting on a genuine smile and closing the door as he left. Several steps later he chuckled out a bit and he muttered: `` Now I have a fan club, isn't that nice? It is not, you say. But why? They are just clinging to me and hinder my work under the guise of protecting me, what could be detrimental about that if I may ask? ´´, one sigh later he went on, his words taking on the form of a silent rant: `` For fucks sake, what in the name of Christ is this shit here? One crazy mishap after another, first day over and I am already pilling up the mental exhaustion…. Stay cool Hermann, stay cool we don't want you to send anyone here on a suicide mission after all. Just a week and then my carrier will arrive here and hopefully my buds too. ´´

 **Back at his bungalow with Iowa and Maya**

Hermann opened the door to his bungalow with ease as he did not lock it and therefore had been sparred from fiddling around with the too large key chain. Next, he undressed his boots and put them safely into a shelf that no one could trip over them. Moving to the kitchen he saw both ship girls sitting on the table with a somewhat down trodden expression, additionally several bottles of beer had been emptied.

`` Why are you two making such a long face? Got ditched by a lover? ´´, he asked

Maya was the first to speak: `` You should now best in that case! We were probing your whole house for any lewd magazines but found nothing at all! ´´

Iowa went on: `` Seriously, why isn't there anything here?! I mean, a health young lad should at least have some of them hidden beneath his bed. Admiral, are you maybe asexual? ´´, the last sentence morphed into some kind of desperate act of teasing.

Hermann pinched his nose: `` Christ, you guys are living in the last century aren't ya? If I were to store some dirty magazines here, I would be having them saved on my tablet. Better access, more storage and I can easily update them. Also, I would somewhat prefer it if you did not pry into my personal stuff. Nevertheless, after just having to deal with another pest in the form of a destroyer, I am now glad to drown myself with Vodka. ´´ Hermann walked over to the fridge where he stored his groceries, then returned to the table with a bottle of the cheap Russian Grain Spirit and three shot glasses.

`` Any of you got some interesting drinking games? ´´, he asked while still standing.

`` Kukuku, I have one that would weld us all closer to each other, if one can keep his memory that is. You may very well know it, but just as everyone knows Mozart, it is a classic hit. Going by the name of "Never have I ever" ! ´´, Maya pumped out.

`` Hmm, that could be quite funny when doing it with a small group of people. Count me in! ´´, Hermann said as he moved over to the fridge again.

Iowa though spent to long thinking, therefore Maya got behind her lacking resolve: `` Don't tell me that Ms. Freedom here doesn't know this game, maybe you have just been blatantly bragging all along until now with nothing to back it up…..´´

Not accepting such an accusation, the American battleship shot back: `` Hey! Don't go in here assuming things! Just because I am not aware of this game, it doesn't mean that I am no good at drinking! ´´

`` Well, that might be true but the game is the most basic drinking game in existence, so it I am still wondering why you are not familiar with it. Compared to the other ship girls you are rather fresh, but if you drank as much as you told me before coming here, this leaves me a bit perplex. ´´

Iowa stuttered: `` W-well I was n-never really drinking w-with anyone, s-so…. ´´

Hermann chuckled a bit: `` Drinking alone late night, another classic. Stigmatized, but don't let it get to you. About half of my hangovers stemmed from getting whizzed in front of my PC, so I can't blame you for anything here without getting hypocritical. ´´

Hermann's words brightened the mood, even Maya, who saw great potential in teasing Iowa here, remained silent. `` We still need to explain the game to you though. Maya would you do me the favour, I will prepare some snacks in the mean time for us to eat. In an old Russian saying the tell you eat a bite after every glass of vodka, or so. ´´, he added as he got a knife for cutting the salami that he just took form the fridge.

`` Sure I'll be doing ya the honour admiral! ´´, she waved him, then returned to Iowa: `` The game is not hard at all, easy going and will certainly create a lot of laughter. So, listen closely: The participants will take all sit together in a circle and then everyone will have to take turns after one another. Going clock-wise or counter clock-wise is completely irrelevant at that point. When it is your turn you will utter the phrase "Never have I ever…" and then add something that to your liking. Ordinary things would be better with this game, since if one actually once did what you said than he will have to take a shot. ´´

`` Hmm, sounds interesting, but isn't that game pretty much just made to be cheated on to? I could theoretically just lie may way through it. ´´, she replied.

`` Well, that is where the game truly shines though. Since it is just a drinking game, the objective is to drink as much as possible and remain somewhat accountable for your actions. Revealing your secrets is just there to make it funnier! ´´

Iowa pondered for a short amount of time, then said: `` Worth a try it surely is then! ´´, she looked over to Hermann: `` Hey admiral, how long will it be taking for you to finish up? ´´

`` Christ, just like freaking children…´´, he muttered, afterwards returned with a louder voice: `` Just sit still for a few more moments and I will give you something! ´´

True to his word he ended his quick process of finishing the snacks in said time measurement, then went over to his kitchen table with two plates and the vodka. After having placed them down, he pulled out a chair so that Iowa would be sitting to his right and Maya to his left. As he was the one in charge of the house, he opened the bottle of vodka. A trademark sound erupted from the small connections as they were ripped apart when Hermann unscrewed the cap of the cheap spirit. Following the former action were three quick motions as he filled up the shot glasses in a precise manner, hitting the 4cl mark without budging even a bit.

He screwed the cap back on, then asked: `` So girls, who is going to start then? ´´

`` I am the new one, so one of you can have the privilege then. Don't want to spoil anything here. ´´, Iowa added.

`` Well, then the great Maya-sama can start the fun here. ´´, Hermann spoke.

`` Recognising my strength, Admiral I see that you have a good eye then! ´´, she just ignored the sarcasm and went on: `` Never have I ever fallen asleep during any kind of academic lesson! ´´

Iowa remained unfazed, not touching her glass, whereas Hermann downed his when she uttered the words "fallen asleep" in combination with "lesson". With a bit of disappointment, he looked at Iowa: `` Didn't expect you to be a teacher's dog. ´´

`` Hmmm, do I smell jealousy from the admiral? ´´, she turned her head to Maya: `` Isn't it great? Not having to worry about sleep so much I mean. I bet the admiral is yearning for that, since he surely needs his beauty sleep…´´

Maya answered with a heartily laughter, then agreed with hear. Hermann also chuckled, he didn't take himself all to seriously in such situations, meaning that he can easily laugh at jokes at his expense. He refilled his glass, then continued as it was his turn now: `` Never have I ever walked on water. ´´, he smirked.

`` Kukuku, a bit cheap but that's how the game is! ´´, Maya responded, then raised her glass to Iowa. The American ship girl followed suit and both of them emptied their vodka.

`` Ahhh, cheap and spice just like it's supposed to be! Iowa, I hope you have something good in the back of your head for the admiral. ´´

`` Hmm, bet your ass onto it! I will get him just like he got us! ´´

Hermann butted in: `` Hey, you aren't gonna ally against me, aren't ya? ´´

His pleads though remained unheard and the battleship continued: `` Never have I ever peed while I was standing! ´´

 _Ship Girls also go need to go to toilet? Hmmmm, what enters also needs to leave…_ Hermann chuckled, then chugged down the vodka with a joyful expression as he somehow got the notion that this here might as well escalate into obscurity. This obscurity though had already been reached as he could see Maya drinking out of her freshly-refilled glass. `` Well, that is interesting. I guess the circumstances were similar to how they are right now, only a lot more advanced. ´´

`` Yeah, even the great Maya-sama does strange things when being drunk, but the amount of alcohol that is needed to push me into that state is more than enough for you, admiral. ´´, she returned.

`` Hmmmm, we will see my dear…´´, his gaze switched to the American: `` Did not play out as planned, did it? ´´

`` Ahhh jeez, I am sorry Maya. I thought I could get him here..´´, she refilled her glass as she said this.

Maya though waved it off and told her to not sweat it, also urging her to finish Hermann off early so that they can have a battle of their own. The German admiral though was sure to easily outlast them, the resistance from his time as a full human would have been enough for the battle, but he never held back in such situations, therefore he will face them with more than just that. While he could completely negate the effects of Methanol, he was still keen on getting a bit drunk, so he wasn't fielding everything. Additionally, the sole fact that ship girls can get drunk still made him wonder. How much of their composure was organic then? Do they have a functioning digestive system and consequently even a metabolism on their own? So many question, but they were not of importance right now, whereas drinking was. Still he will be asking Gregor later on for some first-hand data.

`` Hmm, it is my turn now! ´´, Maya exclaimed: `` Never have I ever...´´


	7. Chapter 7

**That moment when you keep refreshing the EU4 forum as you keep waiting for the MEIOU &Taxes update or when the content for the oral physics exam is three times larger than for the written one. At least I got some booze to wash away my sorrows. **

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Regretting the morning after**

 **23.00**

 **A lot of drinking, stupid mishaps and embarrassing moments later**

`` Ya k-know for a normal hwuman, I thwink that yu are pretty good at drinking….´´, Maya mumbled as she stumbled through the outer layer of the naval base.

`` Hahahaha, as I told ya'all before, I am not called Sir Drink-a-lot or Beast of Bourbon for nthing. ´´, Hermann somehow managed to formulate his words into a sentence while his mind was being greatly impaired by the alcohol.

Next up was Iowa who, despite being a battleship of all things, had been battered the most by the vodka. Well, one could say that something like that would be expected after downing a whole bottle just to prove something. So, she currently lacked the methods to form correct sentences and her blabbering would give an expert more trouble to decipher than a long-forgotten Hittite language. Furthermore, walking became an issue, therefore she decided to use Hermann as some sorts of crutches. That though became increasingly annoying for him, so he decided to just carry her piggy back. With one hand. The other one was needed for the bottle of gin that he took from his storage before leaving, since the vodka had long been gone.

`` how….lng…..? ´´, Iowa mumbled in her drunken state.

Hermann was able to translate this from his past experiences: `` Maya-chan! ´´, he exclaimed.

The ship girl in question put on an annoyed expression that was not meant to be taken seriously and replied: `` MAYA-SAMA, not Maya-chan you idiot! So what ya needin? ´´

Hermann reacted to her insult with a joyful chuckle, then said: `` The sore looser there wants to know how long we'll be takin. ´´ On his remark of being a sore looser she bit him into the ear.

`` Christus! I thought ya were out already, not breathin in ma neck girl! ´´, he uttered.

`` Tell her that we will be taking another five minutes! ´´, she bellowed back at him.

`` Ya hearin? Five mins to go my dear! ´´, he told her with a rather loud to voice for the extra annoyance.

His move succeeded, and the American battleship got slightly shaken by his harsh voice, which wasn't being restrained by the chains of common sense, leading to him wreaking havoc upon her artificial ear drums with his too loud, for a human that is, voice. Of course, some people could have also been woken up by the noises, but to their advantage two things were playing into their fold. Once the area through with they are trailing is rather unused and looking more like a ghost town. Additionally, they will be able to just run away, though the German would have then need to give an explanation about his abnormal running speed. But luckily for them no one decided to just rent into one of the empty hangars and storage halls. Concerning empty storage halls, the German got a bit pissed off as he saw them, since they still decided to rather use his office instead of them. So, after a tad bit more of ranting and fooling around, the trio arrived at said location to which Maya so eagerly wanted to go.

`` So, will'ya tell me then why ya bogged us down here? ´´, Hermann translated for Iowa.

`` For da best entertain*burb*ment of course! See dad? ´´, she pointed at the obvious building in question as it was the only one around here. The location of it was also rather interesting, that being the southernmost building of the base. Furthermore, it had been built on an extra dock, so that parts of it were hanging over the water. Concerning the building style, it looked akin to an old Japanese dojo.

`` Still haven't answered shit, com on give me sum info. ´´, Hermann demanded.

Maya took everything a bit chillier when being concerned about the topic, but in the end decided to not just stay around for all eternity: `` Good for ya, as great Maya-sama her will tell ya now! ´´, she turned her pose into something akin to a person advertising a product on television: `` Behold! It is the wonderful archery range for da aircraft carriers! ´´

`` Archery? ´´, Hermann translated again.

`` My dear, while you in your yankee country use guns, our carriers here are a tad bit moar sophiphticated and therefore take bows as launching thingy…´´, she did not manage to find the right words in order to describe the launch platform.

As there was an insult hidden in the statement, Iowa could not just let it remain unchallenged. This of course led to her blabbering a lot of unfinished phrases and newly-created words, which lead to Hermann being flabbergasted in two ways. On the one hand he could not get it into his head that Iowa just managed to understand a sentence this long in her current state, but on the other hand she also managed, on her own, to create a completely new language that consisted of louds like "hwawaw" and "wnnsmfk". Not being able to understand what she said, Hermann tried body language and through her hands being drunkenly swayed around the air, therefore loosing grip on Hermann, meaning that he had to counteract, but also through some angry sounding burbs into his ears he was able to form something reasonable out of it: `` I don't think that she is all too pleased…´´

`` Ahh, my frwiend no need to be so angry! Just because you can't be shooting a gun, it won't be all too *burb*…´´, she looked a bit disorganized: ``…ahm yes! Boring, that's it! Cowme on Admiral, lets' get going! ´´

`` Fine ba me! ´´, the German exclaimed as he tumbled into the building with her. The drunken ship girl, despite being what her name literally says, did not respectively weigh many tons. The weight was close to the standard weight of a woman of her proportions, therefore even a normal human being wouldn't have had problems giving her a piggy-back ride. So, with no delay and taking a thirsty swing out of his gin bottle Hermann entered the house after Maya banged it open, causing even more noise.

`` Where da heck are we headed to? ´´, Hermann inquired.

`` Just follow great Maya-sama here, we'll be there in a jiffy! ´´, she called back.

`` Hm, fine then I'll be tailin ya! ´´, he added a nod.

Keeping track, Hermann and Iowa on his back followed the self-sure heavy cruiser for some time. After the journey took them about a minute, Maya opened the door in front of them and despite it saying WC from beginning, they carried on. As such, the disappointment when getting the porcelain throne into view was rather enormous, Maya however managed to counteract before Hermann could criticize her impaired navigation skills.

`` Hahaha, ya should've seen ya faces! ´´, she hollered at them while laughing: `` Was just kiddin, the real one's over there! ´´, she pointed a finger at an enlarged sliding door.

`` I'm gonna kick ya ass for real if this is another frckn joke, mate I dare ya…´´, he mumbled under a faked breath.

This time one could hardly describe it as a voyage, since the ten steps from the toilet to the other door only took mere moments, even while being impaired by the effects of alcohol. Proudly Maya opened the sliding door and this time revealed her real goal. Indeed, this time it was not a toilet, neither was it a kitchen nor a storage room, but a real training yard. Bows were being stored in a cupboard besides them, wooden floor added a nice flair and in directly in front of them was a shooting range with targets. These targets were classic archery circles, but instead of standing on a grass floor, they had been placed on pillars that were being erected from the water. Also, the distance was much farther than normally, that being somewhat self-explanatory in the given context.

`` So, admiral wanna have a match with me? ´´, she asked him with an arrogant expression on her face.

`` Da fuq? You are a heavy cruiser, what do you wanna achieve here? Just shooting around? ´´, he inquired as he was left a bit confused by her statement.

`` Haha! Yo got it! Both of us can't use it like those carriers, so why don't just do it the original way? ´´, she added.

Hermann sighed, then chuckled for bit: `` Girl ya remindin me of a friend of mine but fuck it and let's have some fun. I don't know this place, but ya seem to do, so be kind 'n get us the bows, I'll be putting her on the floor in the meantime. ´´

`` Aye, aye admiral! ´´, she said back.

This though were the last words he was able to hear from her. At first, he didn't really notice, putting down Iowa to a place where she wouldn't hurt herself if she achieved it to fall over while sitting, but after he laid her to rest, a quite familiar sound entered his receptors. Hurling. Yep, someone seemed to have drunken enough for today. Turning around, he was being presented with an image that was not all too unfamiliar with him. Remembering his school days, the image of some drunkard barfing around was a weekly occurrence, sometimes he could also be the one doing it as back then his body had its limits.

When he turned around the action-packed part had already passed by and he could see her lying down on the floor, her hair being only a moment's notice away from the puke. Sighing a bit, Hermann walked over to her and squatted down. The girl was sleeping soundly, that much was clear. In succession, he looked over to Iowa, who was unsurprisingly also sleeping. After having analysed the situation he put on a grin and raised his right hand, turning it into a victory sign.

`` Won! ´´, he exclaimed as he forcefully purged the effects of the alcohol from his body: `` Worthy enemies, but still far from the hardest challenge I ever had. ´´, eh closed his eyes and continued grinning, then spoke: `` He is going to arrive with my carrier group I presume… Hmm things may get even more interesting then, not to say that I am looking forward to it as I only have so much patience and after one day these ship girls nearly reached a threshold. ´´

Following up he turned Maya sideways, just in case that she would be puking even more. With Iowa that wasn't being the case anymore as she emptied herself over Hermann's toilet, but only after she did so over his floor. Luckily for him the floor was made out of stone, so he needn't to clean as much as it would have been the case with a wooden floor. When Maya told him of her little excurse, he wanted to join her, but couldn't leave Iowa alone, therefore he just took her with him.

`` Hmmm, I could still try this out though…´´, he wandered over to the cupboard with the bows and took one: `` I am not the best at handling them but should be good enough for this. At first I will have to analyse one of them in order to understand how the work. Material looks like wood but after having investigated it, the bows seems to be made out of a strange alloy. I should take a probe with me then; R&D might be interested. ´´, he pulled out a plastic bag and proceeded with taking said sample. Following that, he used his special mobile phone for the job of analysing the technical components, as it's link with the quantum computers allowed for much greater processing power. While the quantum computers would be conducting the molecular analyses, the data would be fed from the integrated spectrometer of the phone. Every atom has a distinctive wave-length spectrum; thus, one can rather easily identify of which atoms a certain molecule is made of.

`` So, until that is done I can start looking for the arrows, need something to shoot, as voice in my head keeps telling me that this isn't some kind of "pull the energy out from within" bow. ´´, Hermann waltzed over to another cupboard, where he though the arrows could have been. Luckily for him his intuition did not fool him, and the German was able to arm himself with a few arrows, which looked quite normal. Save for the tip that was not really a sharp arrow tip but looked akin to some kind of explosive tip from a video game.

Before he could start to fool around with them, his phone rang for a short moment, indicating that the process of analysing the bow was done, even if it was just a basic one. For a more thorough one he would have to give R&D a sample from one of the bows, but as someone would not have to be some kind of genius to see that a chunk of the bow is missing, he refrained from doing so. After having it pulled out, Hermann read the short message that was sent to him: _Good Day, Sir! We are going to keep it short and concise, just telling the important things so that you can use it. While it may look like a normal bow, it is in a technical sense very sophisticated. The material appears to be the same from which the skeletal structure of the ship girls is made of. Additionally, it's flexibility was also improved. We can not give you any numbers for the draw weight, but we guess that you would be able to easily knock an elephant down with it. There also seems to be an electrical grid built into it, most likely for control purposes, but we can't specify anything more that would be of use to you for now. Best Regards, R &D!_

`` Hmmm, then I have to get things done here by myself I guess….. Well don't fret Hermann, this is not something like advanced linear algebra, so I doubt that using this thing here will be all to hard! ´´, he muttered to him in full spirit.

Putting his right hand onto the bow, he activated his built-in interface and looked for a docking sequence, allowing him to unlock the weapon to its fullest potential. As expected an input screen literally appeared before his eyes and he was asked to put in an authorisation code.

`` Rather trying then dying then, I guess..´´, he chuckled as he entered the 16 digit code that had been given to him with the keys. When the green screen appeared, adorned with the kanji for "accepted", he was taken aback a bit as he did not expect this to work. On second though thou, it made some sense to him as nobody would here would expect anyone to be able to even enter the code, besides the ship girls. So, for reasons of simplicity, they most likely just linked the general codes with these bows.

Hermann then got up from his squatting position and walked over to the archery range, bow and arrow in his hands. After having found a valid location, he put his left foot in front of him, his shoe tip directly pointing at the target. The right foot was being placed a bit further behind, in contrast to the left it was placed horizontally to give him a better footing for what was to come. Then he pulled up the bow with his left hand, knocked one of the arrows into its place and drew the string back.

`` Just like on this one medieval festival, keep it calm and aim it down. ´´, he said as he pointed the flat tip towards the accumulation of red and white circles that represented his target. After he nailed it down for tenth of a second, the cyborg let loose of the primed arrow and it flew towards the target with immense speed, since the draw weight of the bow was many times higher then it would have been on a normal one. For the first half of the forty-meter course, nothing happened, but when the arrow passed the twenty-meter mark, it bursted into flames and out of it came a small plane.

`` Yeeeesssss. ´´, he muttered in a voice akin to a certain British car-show moderator.

Suddenly though, another window opened on his digital interface and he was politely asked to give orders for plane. Hermann was content with what he had seen, so ordered it just come back. There was a problem with this tough. He had no flight deck on which the plane could descend upon. So, the plane took the only available terrain that looked some what akin to flight deck and that was his chest.

With a loud thump, a somewhat small explosion and a bit of fire the plane crashed into him. Hermann expected it to do that after he realized his error, but he did not expect it to pack such a punch. It felt like getting hit by an enemy ship, thus he was forced to stumble back in order to tank the impact. When he looked down in order to see the damage, he was taken back a bit as there was now a burning hole in his shirt and a bruise on his chest.

`` Fucking wonderful, I thought my clothing would at least be intact until the next mission, but god be damned in that case! If there is one thing that I hate like nothing else, that it is getting my goddam clothes dirty or damged! ´´, he rambled as he got rid of his shirt.

`` Christus, I am not going to do that one again without proper equipment…. ´´, he looked at his clock to check the time: `` Hmmm, half past eleven then, better get those two in the bungalow and myself into the bed. Meeting is at nine a.m., meaning that there will approximately seven and a half hours of sleep for them. Well, at least the hangover won't be hitting them too hard then. ´´, he chuckled as he put the bow and arrows back into their respective cupboards.

After having put a tick onto his mental to-do list, Hermann continued his task by getting rid of his burnt shirt. Not wanting to leave any evidence that could somehow lead to him, he took the shirt and folded it, afterwards he quickly stored it in his trousers. Next thing on the list was to clean up a bit, not the mess that was Maya's puke, as he would just put the blame on her if it came to it, but the wrecked parts of the mini-airplane he launched a few moments before. When he inspected the remaining parts of the wreckage he identified the plane as a Mitsubishi Zero.

`` As expected… Good mobility and very fast, but after getting hit once you can say goodbye to it and the pilot. ´´, he muttered as he picked up the now cooled down parts. After that was done he did a very sensible thing and threw the wrecked plane into the sea below him. `` Good, finished up then, the girls won't be taking a step on their own…. Ughhh, meaning that I have to carry them. ´´

True to his sighing, he wandered over to the two sleeping ship girls and picked them up. Staring with Maya as she was closer, he took her with his left hand and heaved her onto his left shoulder. Iowa was next, so he repeated same process with his right this time. Now, packed with two sleeping beauties and wearing no shirt at all, he looked a bit like a rapist. _Mate, either it is the enemy or I am in a really bad mood, then I fall back to that treatment, but both parameters are not being meet right now….., he shot a glare at the author._

`` Hahaha, still if someone were to see me like this I would have to explain a few things. Luckily for me, I have a scanner that can easily identify nearing ship gir- Fuck, speaking of the devil. ´´, he muttered as his sensors picked something up. Better safe then sorry, the man jumped from the open-air part of the archery range onto its roof, landing on the tiles without a sound. After he landed, he defied the common sense and did not leave, rather stayed to have a look the person that is coming here. _Hmm, if she has her sensors on she could theoretically sense those two, but I doubt that's how is. Still, if she has I can easily get away and face shouldn't be recognizable when moving with my standard speed. Should she have some kind of in-built high-speed camera though and notice that it is me, I can most likely just call her off with authority._

Peaked with interest, the German aimed his gaze at the part of the archery that was visible from his position. Some sounds of rumbling later, he saw a certain girl with olive green hair, kept in twin tails, getting over to the firing spot. Intrigued, he identified her as a certain aircraft carrier that he threatened to kill off if she kept acting like a brat. She was also mumbling something and thankful to his artificial hearing, Hermann was able to get the gist of her words: `` I will show the First Carrier Division that I am just as good as them, no, I will be even better. Training here, late at night just shows how much spirit I have…. I will not succumb to this arrogant behaviour and let myself fall back. ´´

 _Hahaha, like a fucking shounen anime, Christ oh Christ….. Doesn't she know that her acting alone is keeping her back? If she just wouldn't be so focused on reaching them, rather putting herself into the centre of it all, then her life would be a lot easier. Mine too in that sense, since she then should not have any reason to be so freaking edgy.._ Hermann's train of thought though was interrupted by a rather unexpected visitor. It was an elusive and somewhat psychopathic woman that more or less declared her love for the foreign man in pretty much every dialogue that had upon till now. For now, he would silently watch and hopefully be amused.

`` Look, look! What do we have here? A loner trying to become something that she can't be, I guess. Why are you even trying? ´´, she bellowed at her.

`` **You….** ´´, Zuikaku snarked at her. In quick succession, she threw away her bow and charged the other woman. She though, despite being not a ship girl was seemingly faster and countered her attack with on of her own. A powerful blow found its way into the stomach of the aircraft carrier. Followed by a somewhat hearable bang, Zuikaku crumbled under the pressure and fell to her knees.

`` Ara, Ara week as always, dear just accept your, will you? ´´, she joyfully spoke as she grabbed Zuikaku by her hair and strangled her. Grunts of pain followed the action, to which Homura answered with more force. This time she took her whole head and pressed it to the ground.

Laughter erupted from the woman: `` Hahahaha, you see I was just on a very boring mission. My superiors told me that I couldn't mutilate the bodies of our enemies, so as you can imagine I still have some pent-up feelings inside of me…´´, she increased the tension by putting her foot down onto Zuikaku's back: `` So, even after my darling helped me in that sense and got rid of them in a sexual sense, I still need to make someone…. How should I put it?-Ahh, yes let's keep it simple and say that this someone needs to feel it! Coming back to my darling…. Have you apologised? ´´

`I-I ha-ha…´´, she couldn't finish her sentence as she was kicked into the gut by Homura's free foot.

`` Sorry! I couldn't understand what you were trying to say, would you repeat it a bit louder for me? ´´, she gave her a fake smile.

`` **Yes! I have apologised!** ´´, she bellowed out this time. Hermann chuckled at this scene in a creepy way as he was slightly amused by it.

`` Good girl. See? It wasn't so hard, so remember to speak clearer next time. ´´, she paused shortly, but still remained relentless as she pushed her foot down with more force, thus forcing a desperately sigh out of Zuikaku. `` I don't like to repeat myself, but a thickhead like you will most likely not understand it otherwise: Do not insult him another time! I am not threatening you here, rather warning as my darling is on a whole different level then me when it comes to pure evil. Also, if you think that a normal human like him can't do anything to you, then I have to disappoint you, because h- ´´

`` And here we have to stop this whole conversation! ´´, Hermann bellowed as he cut her off mid-speech, jumping down form the roof top. Maya and Iowa were left behind on a safe location, where they wouldn't suddenly roll down from the building in sleep. `` My dear, I am thankful for what you are doing here, getting rid of the little and pestering children, but don't you think that telling them my secrets is a bit too much? ´´

Both girls had a dumbstruck expression upon his arrival, but soon those changed into two different. While Homura was full of joy when she saw her self-proclaimed soul mate, Zuikaku was taken aback, even frightened by the man's arrival. One lucky thing though happened for her and that was the sudden relief from Humora's foot as the mutant rushed over to Hermann who standing there without a shirt. Without any care for the situation, she suddenly hugged him. Hermann reacted not really to it and just accepted it with a standard sigh.

`` Girl, why don't ya just stop the hugging and tell me what even is going on here? ´´, he suggested.

After a bit of pushing from him, the woman finally let him get out of her embrace, even if she put on a pouty face afterwards, Hermann still stood unmoved by her pampering. He then spoke: `` Don't even ask why I am here, as I will not tell anything. If you are back here so early and acting out of full joy, then I guess the mission was a full success, right? ´´

She answered him with a nod, then the man continued: `` So, you are bullying her then? I mean, while it is understandable that she needs a bit of a beating to finally get the gist and yes, I have threatened her to be scrapped off, but please, do me a favour and don't rile her up too much as she still needs to perform good in combat. ´´, he moved his gaze to the aircraft carrier that was now standing: `` Zuikaku as no one besides us is here right now and she spoiled some bits, I can speak honest words to you: Don't get on my nerves and I won't make your life living hell, it's as easy as that. ´´

Before anyone could give a reply, Hermann heard the sound of someone sniffing around, literally in that sense. Truthfully, it was the mutant woman who just picked up a new scent coming from the topless man. `` Darling, to whom does this smell belo- ´´

`` And this is my signal to leave then, bye bye! ´´, he called out as he propelled himself unto the roof in order to get away from the somewhat jealous woman. immediately after, when he touched the roof, Hermann ran to the location where he placed both sleeping women. In addition, he started to curse himself for revealing that he was not just your average human. Still, he was sure that Zuikaku would not dare to leak any intel on him to the others, not after the show he just put on. And even if she did, he would rather explain to them that he was a cyborg, notorious for brutally killing his enemies, than to enlighten Homura as to why he was only wearing his trousers and there were two sleeping women with him.

Upon reaching them, he grabbed them with less care then when he did before and ran off with even more speed. The roof top crossed, he jumped down from it and used the force from the jump to cover about twenty metres of distance before not all too gracefully landing on the tarmac floor. The shock absorbed, he went back to sprinting, but not too fast as he did not want to wake up the two ship girls on his shoulders. Doing about 40 kilometres per hour, he crossed the distance to his him pretty quickly, not having the joy of randomly meeting someone during the night.

After this uneventful moments he was finally in front of his door, but then was struck by the accumulated misfortune as he was reminded that he locked the door before he left with those two. So, he imitated some acrobatic circus clown as he balanced the ship girls on his shoulders when he reached down into his pants in order to get his key chain. He reached it with the firs try, but that didn't mean this ordeal was over now, no, he still had to find out which key was the one fitting into the key hole in front of him. Fortuna left him again and he spent nearly two minutes in a strange position that allowed him to balance these two on his shoulder and switch through the keys at the same time.

This ordeal took far longer than he initially expected it to last, therefore the German was slightly annoyed, but at the same time relieved when he finally managed to get a hold of the correct key. With much ease this one fitted in, not indicating that he was about to damage the lock, which would have surely catapulted him to DEFCON 1. A relatively loud **klick** followed his movement and the door was finally unlocked. Hermann then carefully entered the building, hoping to not accidently hit some heads with sloppy movement. After having managed to not disturb the two sleeping ship girls upon entering, Hermann let out a sigh of relieve as it was within the realm of possibility that one of them would have answered a hit on the head with a whole-hearted puke. And Hermann did not want to clean up puke.

This time, Miss fortune actually decided to pay him a visit, since the door to his kitchen/ living room was wide open. He could not remember who was the last to leave, but if it had been one of those two, then he would be thanking them afterwards as the current state of the door made his live a bit easier. With his mind at ease he moved on, heading for the couch in his living room. While it was not the biggest, there should not be much of a problem for those two to sleep on it. Inching closer, he shifted his right shoulder down a bit, giving him the opportunity to relieve himself of the first drunkard. Motion followed motion, thus Iowa found her way to the empty couch, where Hermann placed her on her left side, for if she had to puke it would not be on the couch or on herself, but rather the floor that was easier to clean. After doing the same with Maya, Hermann finished the job, but before he got to his room, something struck his mind and he suddenly followed his finished work up with a more caritative action. He gave them blankets.

Next up was his routine, meaning that he would now be brushing his teeth. While it did not really have an effect on his dental instruments, it stuck with him like many other old habits. So, Hermann put the brushing attachment onto his electrical tooth brush and began his work. With no haste he carefully freed his artificial teeth from all the remainders of the small feast they had hours ago. Just like him, those two could eat a lot and after having eaten two salamis and a ton of bread, Hermann even had to cook something for them. This though had not been a source of annoyance for the German, as he was quite fond of cooking. The happy and content faces after the meal proved to him that his masterful cooking skills had not crumbled under weight that had been his current diet, consisting mostly of pizza, other fast food or the flesh of Abyssals.

Two minutes later, Hermann was informed by his tooth brush that the required brushing time for a healthy set of teeth had just passed and that could end the process. Hermann followed suit, switching it off, washing it with water from the tap, taking a sip from the running water, moving it around his mouth for a few moments and lastly spitting it out. Last tick had been made on the list and he walked out of the bathroom towards his bed room. Step by step he silently walked towards it and quickly entered to not be the cause of any sleep-disrupting sounds. After carefully shutting the door, Hermann found himself in his cosy and neat-looking chamber. Last preparations had to be made, therefore he got rid of his shirt, trousers and of course, his underwear as sleeping naked is and will always be the best.

Relieved of clothes and other sorrows, Hermann slipped under the thin blanket and positioned himself on his left side, since he still wanted to check some things on his phone. He took the smartphone and read some of the messages that had been sent to him. One of them was from his friend Gregor who thought it would be funny to draw some phalli upon a sleeping member of the R&D department. Hermann of course chuckled lightly at this and replied to him that if he ever did that to him, then he could see himself being impaled somewhere on the beach, a wink was also added to the message. Next on was a unknow number, but upon seeing the profile image, Hermann could identify her as a certain woman that could be a little jealous from time to time. For those wondering, the message was not a text message but a picture of her. One could imagine what type of picture. No other messaged were left and so Hermann was now keen on checking his emails. This was not his official mail address, but rather the one he used for Steam and other gaming services. When scrolling through the unread feed, he found one message that informed him of something truly wonderful. It would not be long until Victoria 3 would be released.

`` Yeeessss. ´´, he uttered: `` But now I should hit the bunks, sleeping is just so relaxing. ´´ Hermann chuckled upon saying those last words and within the next seconds closed his eyes and shut down his various systems, safe for the essentials like the signature sensors that would wake him up if some unknown being came close to him.

* * *

 **Many Years prior to Hermann's arrival in Japan**

A groggy feeling overcame a young, seventeen-year-old man as he slowly rose from the bed. Looking around, he was easily able to deduce that he was not in his room. The cupboard was much too big, his clothes did not need so much space, also the colour of the blanket was off, as his was a stylish toned black and this one was just grey. He turned his head again in order to take in more information, one thing immediately caught his eye: An empty bottle of Zirbenschnapps.

`` The only person I know that drin- ´´, he was about to say, but stopped upon realizing something: `` Fuck. Jesus Christus, what have I done? ´´

He looked down upon himself, only to reveal that he had been sleeping naked this whole time. Normally that wouldn't have been problematic, if it weren't for the fact that he was not in his room. He continued by trying to make more sense of it, a look to the dust bin which was not all too far from the bed revealed what he had feared. A used condom. Hermann put his palm towards his face and let a loud sigh as he removed the blanket from his naked body. While he stood up he found the clothing that he had been wearing yesterday. A pair of jeans, a blue boxer short, a pair of black socks and a Vektor shirt. After having put them on he made a few steps only for a throbbing head ache to hit him.

`` Verdammt, how many drinks did I even have? I can't remember a fucking thing, save for what was revealed by that used condom…´´, he silently muttered. `` Where is she? Christ, I hope her parents are still on that honeymoon trip or whatever they are doing. Well, doesn't even matter now, I stepped on this hornet's nest and now need to deal with it. ´´

The wooden door in front of him was subsequently opened and he stepped out of her room, carefully walking towards the kitchen from where he could the noise of a radio announcer. Problems need to be dealt with head on, just playing around wouldn't make a difference. While he could've fled from the window, Hermann would have just met her in his class anyway, as they were classmates. The last metres dealt with in a hungover fashion, he lastly reached the kitchen were he, to his surprise, found a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee and a can of Rollmops already standing on the table. But that was not the reason for his determined actions, the reason for it was directly sitting at the table and smiled at him.

Hermann threw a chuckle back at her: `` Ahhh, good morning Monika. ´´

The girl kept her smile and answered: `` My, I thought you sleep five minutes longer, but it seems like you couldn't get on with it any longer. ´´

Hermann sat down and looked at the canned fish standing in front of him: `` Hmmm, you really know me well then I guess… Nothing beats a hangover like some good Rollmops. ´´, he looked up to the girl, then went on: `` I hope, I did not cause any inconveniences Monika…´´

`` Hermann, Hermann it was quite the contrary. I felt really good back then, have you had any experiences prior? ´´, she asked with a bit more pressure.

`` Hmmmm, not really, I just drink a lot but don't tend to fool around, was my first time if you want to know. ´´, he returned with his eyes closed and a smirk and his face.

The girl went on: `` Good. And I though you might have become a fucking normie….. ´´, she paused, putting on a smile that was rather sinister: `` If it had been like this, a normie taking my virginity, then I would actually have to kill you….. ´´

Hermann sighed, he knew where this would be going. Monika was about to continue, but Hermann cut her off: `` Monika, **I will not help you killing our Latin teacher! ´´**

She jumped up from her chair, quite startled: `` What is with in those last days?! I thought you understood me?! You were the only one who was shared these murderous intents with me?! ´´

Now Hermann stood up with a pissed look: `` And for fucks sake I still do! But there is a huge freaking difference between just talking about them and actually doing it! We are not professionals, don't have the money to get a contract with a hitman and most importantly: I will not jeopardize my future and that of my family just for this one fucking thing. Two months! Two months until the finals begin and then you don't have to see him any longer! Why can't you just keep it down?! ´´

She changed her expression, becoming even more furious: `` Because I am not like you! I can't just suck up the antics of that motherfucker! ´´, her rant went on: `` Hermann! You changed a lot in those last weeks! With every day that passed by, you felt more and more like a stranger to me! Where is the Hermann that I knew?! Where is the Hermann helped me through the toughest times? ´´, she suddenly started to sob: `` Where is the Hermann I fell in love with….´´

Herman face palmed and muttered: `` Fuck, so this is it…. ´´

`` Don't act like you didn't know?! This party yesterday, only god knows why you though inviting me was a good idea, I hated it! I knew from the beginning that I would not enjoy it and you, deep down, knew as well! But I still came, only for you, grasping the last straw before you were about to completely separate yourself from me! And when you were completely drunk, I was the only one who was willing to bring you to a safe location! Never did I complain! What happened afterwards should still be in your head! ´´, she bellowed at him with much anger.

`` Don't you guilt trip me now! You say I am the one who changed?! Think again, who started the pestering about killing the Latin teacher? You. Who wanted to buy a plastic barrel and strong acids on Amazon? You, again! How can you seriously expect me keep up with that? Yes, I hate this bastard with every fibre of my existence. Yes, if I could I would put a bullet in his head so that he can push up daisies from six feet below, but here is the crucial point you seem to be missing. I, but also you can't! And what I also cannot do is putting up with this shit anymore! ´´, he moved from the table towards the door: `` Nice hearing from you that I am someone who you can fall in love with, but for fucks sake I cannot give you what you want. I am leaving… ´´

This of course filled Monika up with a lot of furry, thus he took an empty plate and subsequently threw it at Hermann. The man though somewhat expected her to do that, so he was able to evade a nasty wound on his head. After having missed her target, she fell to her knees. More and more tears built up on her eye lids until she wasn't able to hold it any longer. Hermann did not turn his head back to the crying girl, he kept his composure until he left through the white entrance door and created a distance of approximately one hundred metres between him and her house. Then he sat down on the closest bench.

A small tear formed around his right eye as he mourned the loss of his former friend.

* * *

`` That was unpleasant…´´, he muttered as he opened his eyes from the preceding slumber. Luckily, this time he wasn't greeted by some ship girl trying to do obscene things with him. So, he got up quickly, got a fresh set of clothing and walked out of his bedroom. When entering the living room and not being greeted by the rancid smell of puke, Hermann was not relieved, rather he started to frown upon the misfortunes that would be getting to him today in order to balance things out. Not being superstitious though, he tackled this head on with a chuckle and walked over to the fridge, from which he took a bottle of beer.

`` Des wichtigste in da fria is a bia. ´´, he proudly repeated his daily mantra and moved his gaze over to two certain ship girls. Of course, they were still sleeping. Iowa was even spotting some drool on her cheeks and it threatened to soil Hermann's couch. He wanted to prevent such things and therefore he pulled out his smartphone, which he linked with the stereo that he managed to install yesterday when unloading things with Fusou. Carefully swapping through his titanic music folder, he chose a fitting black metal song from Bathory.

Distorted guitars raced through the rooms in an instant, the intense sound of pimped up drums started to pound their ear drums and the growling voice of the vocalist shook them to the core. Now, they were awake. Maya was the first to get a hold on herself, likewise as she proved yesterday to be more resistant then Iowa when alcohol is concerned. Thus, she too was the first to say something as she quickly deduced Hermann to be the source of trouble around here: `` Fuck, turn it down! I get it, I get it! Just turn it down…´´

Hermann chuckled at her complaints but followed suit and stopped the song. Then Iowa managed to finally get a hold of herself, getting up rather slowly, but steady. She looked around the room with much confusion in her eyes, then she asked Hermann: `` Admiral….. Fuck…. Where am I? Ahhh, yes drinking… ´´

`` How can you just stand there and laugh?! You definitely drank as much as we did and still you act like someone who remained sober through the night! ´´, Maya scowled at him.

`` Weil ich der King bin! ´´, he returned in German.

Iowa spoke up: `` Mate, I can't speak Kraut….. Could you please translate it? ´´

`` Because I am the king! King was English though, but as your current state is not the best I can tolerate such things, my dear. ´´, he returned in a taunting manner.

Maya identified the bottle he was holding in his head as a beer bottle and replied in an annoyed way: `` Are you fucking kidding me? Put that away for fucks sake…. I won't be able to take the stench of alcohol for the next hours…. ´´

`` Ohhh, so the great Maya-sama accepted her loss. How humble of her…´´, Hermann continued his taunt.

`` Yeah, fuck you too…´´, she shortly paused as he grasped her head: `` Ahhh fuck, not feeling all to well up there. Admiral, would you care to explain what even happened after we left the house? ´´

`` Very well, my dear. ´´, he put aside his beer: `` Well, you got the wonderful idea of fooling around with the equipment of the carriers. So, when we arrived there you challenged me to an archery contest, after you managed to mistake the door leading to the range with the toilet room. When we were about to start though, you decided to finally let loose, puking in that sense, and then decided to take a nap. ´´

Iowa, despite her head still being in a rather groggy state, broke out in laughter as she heard Hermann's words. The German though quickly devised a counter action in order to jab Iowa, as she somehow too forgot about the various things that happened yesterday. Thus, Hermann put on his cockiest smile and shot at her: `` If I were you, I wouldn't laugh so much Iowa. Weren't you the one who puked before everyone else, then entered a stage of "not being able to communicate" and finally just fell asleep? ´´

Maya was this time quick to act and got her revenge by imitating Iowa's former taunting laughter. The American ship girl on the contrary though painted her face in an embarrassed red and tried to hide it in vain, as everyone was able to grasp her expression before she managed to bury her face into one of the blankets that Hermann provided. Some squealing from Iowa and laughter from the two other parties later, calmness finally returned to Hermann's bungalow. With a smirk he then wandered over to the kitchen table, was about to ask them if they wanted some beer, but in the last moment tossed the idea out of the window as he had teased enough. For now. More could still come.

`` Want something to eat? I can cook the perfect breakfast for fighting a hangover, trust me with things as these I had enough experiences in my youth. ´´, he asked in a motivated manner.

Maya, being in a better state, turned her hand into a pistol, aimed it at him and shot back: `` Bring it on! ´´

Iowa tough, was not feeling all too well, eating anything heavier than a roll or drinking something with even the slightest hint of taste could be enough to send her running a second time. Thus, she waved his hand at him in order to signal him that she wouldn't be joining them, in the last moment though she added: `` Wait, can you give me a glass of water? ´´

`` Sure, my dear. Just sit down and I will hand you one over. ´´, Hermann followed her request.

Both ship girls now sitting at the table and temporarily satisfied with a glass of water for each, it was now Hermann's turn to shine with his self-praised cooking skills. Firstly, he would get something fatty. Therefore, he opened the fridge and pulled out some bacon and about seven eggs. In order to combat a hangover, especially if you puked before sleeping, you need a hearty meal, with a lot of minerals and other supplements. Scrambled eggs with bacon, thoroughly seasoned, was his choice for such an occasion then. This would give the patient a strong base in order to get rid of the unpleasant feelings quickly. Normally, this would be sufficient, but considering that they would be having a meeting afterwards, stronger medicine is needed. And there was only one thing that could help. Rollmops.

After having assembled the eggs and the bacon, Hermann was now ready to start. First things first though, for this reason he grabbed hold of a rather large frying pan that he took from the cupboard below him. The pan steadily sitting atop of the stove, the German turned it up to the maximum and filled it with a rather chaotic pattern of bacon. The bacon slowly beginning to fry, Hermann than took a ceramic bowl and cracked on egg after another into it. After having done that, he threw the uneatable remainders of the eggs away and began to swirl the different parts of the eggs together. Upon finishing, the Admiral turned his gaze side wards and looked at the bacon, which had gotten a healthy colour, signalling that it was fried well enough. Thus, he added the freshly made yellow substance into the large frying pan. Upon contact a loud "shhhhh" signalled Hermann that it was too hot, therefore he turned the stove down a bit to not burn the eggs. While it was shortly resting, Hermann continued by putting two slices of toast into the toaster. Next thing to grab was a spatula, with which he quickly began to scramble the eggs in the frying pan, fusing it with the bacon. A few minutes later he finished the business, shutting the stove down, pulling out a plate and then serving the scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. But before he allowed anyone to eat it, a relatively large amount of salt and pepper was added.

`` Here you go…´´, Hermann gave her the dish, but shortly paused as he quickly rushed to the kitchen in order to get a fork and, most importantly, the Rollmops: `` Bon appetite! ´´ ´

While Maya was devouring his scrambled eggs, Hermann spotted Iowa slowly drinking her glass of water, upon which he remembered a quite comedic scene form his school days: `` Hahaha, this somehow gets me thinking about a certain school trip that I had to partake in years ago. ´´

`` *munch* Pray tell? ´´, Maya spoke with food in her mouth.

`` Hmmm, why not? Well, when I was in the eight grade of grammar school we had this art trip somewhere around Berlin or so. Cutting it short, the trip was absolutely boring without anything noteworthy. But on the last day we decided to really blast ourselves away after we had to endure the monotonous voice of our arts teacher for three days. So, before having dinner we hit the next supermarket and spent around sixty euros or so on booze. I, for example bought a fine bottle of French red wine, which would haunt me then on the next day. ´´, Hermann chuckled shortly, then continued: `` Things were about to out of hand afterwards as we emptied pretty much everything that we bought, including me drinking the whole bottle alone. And then, without drinking and getting rid of the drunken haze, I hit the bunks. Next morning, we had to get up early, so sleeping was not really a thing then, had about for hours or so. Now comes the funny part. Just imagine the following: You feel as dry as a mummy that just rose from a sarcophagus, your head bummed like you hit a thousand times, your bowls were on the brink of rebellion and we were supposed to leave the hostel in one hour. When sitting at the breakfast table, I only drank a glass of water, that took me to finish about twenty minutes. Absolute misery had been painted onto my face and then the teacher arrived telling us to get going. Pure gold! ´´

The comedic story showed its intended effect and both girls started to laugh, Maya a bit more intense than Iowa as she was in a generally better state of existence than her. Hermann joined them, as he took his own misery not all to serious. But there was still something lingering, something that connected this story from years ago and the present. Time. So, Hermann looked at his clock and put on a smirk when he read the time: 8.30 a.m.

`` Hmm, we have thirty minutes left, you should get it going then…´´, Hermann playfully said to them.

Iowa grasped in horror upon hearing his words as she was far from being able to communicate in a good way with anyone. Maya though, just increased the intensity of her eating speed, hoping to at least get some time to wash her face.

`` Well, I guess Iowa here is then the worst case…´´, he said and stood up from the table, walking over to his sports bag, which stood opposite from the dining table. After a quick search he found the piece he looked for: Sun glasses. While looking rather cheap and having pink temples they would be enough to mask the worst. On the sides though, there were two lines of text written on each temple. On the right "2cool4school" and on the left "hangover-glasses".

`` Don't want to add insult to the injury, but those are the only ones I got right now. ´´, he handed her the glasses over to her.

`` Hmm, at least better than nothing… Thanks admiral! ´´, she beamed the best smile at him that she could muster right now and put them on.

`` DONE! ´´, Maya bellowed as she took off to his bathroom, but before she entered she turned and said: `` The eggs were wonderful, admiral! ´´

With respectable praise Hermann, grew quite contend and ended up putting on his standard, semi-arrogant, smirk. He decided to take off in about five minutes, telling it both Maya and Iowa. But there were still unfinished things floating around, his beer for example. So, in order to satisfy his urges to not waste anything, Hermann then emptied the bottle in one go. Having finished it, he could now aim his concentration upon the last things which still needed to be done. For example, Maya somehow forgot her manners at home and did not put the plate into the sink. Scowling, Hermann took care of it, but not ending it there as he put the remainders of his cooking session upon the plate.

`` Christ, some people just are too gung-ho about finishing…´´, he muttered.

Looking back at the table, he saw Iowa managing to finish her glass of water, but Hermann knew that she wouldn't be able to drink another glass in the given time without having to empty her stomach upon his floor. Therefore, he grabbed a bottle of mineral water from his fridge and handed it over Iowa, telling her that she would need more water in order to make it through the day. The American battleship thanked him and took the bottle with a smile, which this time looked quite naturally thanks to the effects of her groggy eyes being hidden through his sun glasses.

Quite punctual, Maya returned from her quick face wash, meaning that they were now ready to leave. Hermann was the first to stand up, and followed by a slower Iowa, walked over to the door leading out of the bungalow. Maya told them that she would just quickly get her phone, which she forgot on the couch after waking up there.

Outside they waited for about a minute until the heavy cruiser arrived at the doorstep. `` You can already get into the Wiesel. My incompetence that tends to show up when it comes to getting the right key is quite sizeable. ´´

`` Fine, but don't take too long! ´´, Maya holler as she and Iowa walked over to the tankette.

 _Says the one who took minutes for searching a phone._ Hermann sighed at her contradicting sentences but did not want to give her any empirical data that she could use to annoy him later on. With relative ease and in a sensible span of time, that being one minute, he managed to not only get the right key, but also to lock he door. With the smirk he accompanied his temporary victory and sprinted towards the parking tankette, where both girls were already waiting for him. Upon arrival, he jumped on top of the machine and proceeded with entering it through the driver's hatch.

`` Buckle up ladies! ´´, he playfully commanded them.

`` Ahhm, admiral can I dr- ´´, Maya was about to ask.

`` Hahaha, was für ein Komiker! Girl, I would not even let you drive my ride under normal circumstances, so why did ya think that I would let you now? ´´, he carefully turned his head in order to not hit anything as he replied.

`` Hmmm, if you never try then…. ´´

`` Yeah, yeah I get it…´´, Hermann muttered back with his hand already turning on the engine. A second of motor revving later, it had been turned on.

But before he could put his foot down ointo the pedal, Iowa interrupted him: `` Admiral, mind if I ask you something? ´´

`` Go ahead. ´´, he quickly returned.

`` Isn't the meeting supposed to take place at around 9.30? ´´

`` Yes. ´´

`` Would you mind telling me then why are leaving so goddam early? This machine will be there in a jiffy! ´´, she tried to sound intimidating, but due to her hangover and the pink sunglasses she did not quite succeed in it.

`` Well, as an admiral I actually have things to do and because being over punctual is never a bad thing! ´´, he hollered back at her and, before she could counter, put pedal to the medal.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jesus, school suddenly decided to kick you in the ass on last time and thsu becomes even more of a hassle than normally, still all things will end eventually. Thus, school's now finally over and I am now stranded on this beach of even more things to worry about like getting a drivers license or how i am going to plan my time after conscription. But i digress, during those two weeks of not writing, i was able to get my head together and planned soem events in advance for the story. Stay thirsty and drink a lot!**

* * *

 **Hammerhead**

`` Speed and Power! ´´, the voice of a certain German Admiral resounded through the somewhat empty naval base as he charged his Wiesel tankette towards the training area.

While was rather joyful about this speedy voyage, the two ship girls in the back of the vehicle were not quite satisfied with the quality of their trip, though both of them acted quite different. Maya on the one hand tried rather hard to stay composed, not wanting to show any weaknesses which Hermann could exploit later on in the never-ending game of "teasing" and "counter teasing". Iowa on the other hand though did not make any efforts to disguise anything. Well, she had been hit a bit harder by the hangover and therefore had her restraints loosened up a bit, especially when Hermann made manoeuvres such as cornering a rather narrow piece of road while doing 50 kilometres per hour in a tracked vehicle.

Due to such unfortunate circumstances, the loud revving of the engine and her seat being not as comfortable as Hermann's couch, she found herself in a more pitiful state of being, amplified by each minute. If her constant complaining about the sound of the engine and Hermann's maniacal driving style did not give it away, then the hand that was constantly shutting her mouth, so that she would not barf into the vehicle, gave away more than enough.

Hermann of course was aware of the circumstances in the seats behind him but driving the Wiesel around was just too much fun, especially when the risk of accidently road killing someone was lower than the day before. Therefore, he made the decision to conform Iowa with words of support: `` My dear, there should still be a plastic bag form yesterday's shop around here somewhere! If ya thinking about barfing around in my ride, then you better use it, otherwise I might be forced to kick tie you to the front with steel wires! ´´, he accentuated his words with taking a sip from suspicious bottle.

Iowa was not all too pleased with his inappropriate words, but since she could very well unintentionally be emptying her stomach onto the vehicles floor if she got riled up too much, the American battleship remained content for now. From yesterday's drinking excurse, she very well learned that he would be true to his words and while he as a normal human should not be able to tie her up against her will, he could very well get the help of a ship girl for such actions.

In Iowa's mind this trip of hell could still be stretching out until Kingdome Come, but she was sparred from any longer narrow cornering, since he stopped the vehicle. This stop though was not salvation, but rather the grand de finale for Iowa's unstable stomach. In contrary to a vehicle with wheels, most tracked vehicles can be seemingly stopped in an instant, accompanied with a comedic lift of the vehicles rear section, after hitting the breaks. The concept applying to the Wiesel as well, the ride took an abrupt end and as such, Iowa's holding back against the ever-growing danger of vomiting too. In the last second however she was able to bail out of the Wiesel in order to not let Hermann's threats become real. Thus, with a quick motion she jumped out of her seat, mustered all strength that until now had been stored in her hungover body and left the tankette in an acrobatic way.

Nevertheless, upon hitting the floor the flood gates had been lifted and the American battleship now had to deal with the mistakes of yesterday. Hermann, who looked at her through the opened drivers hatch, erupted into mad laughter as he saw her in her miserable state. Maya, while not being able to see it directly, still connected the dots and therefore knew of Iowa's demise. She joined the German then in his laughter, not as intense but just as well.

Iowa finally finished her works due and turned back to Hermann with a glare in directed at him: `` Hey douche, just so you know the next time you will be having it coming! ´´

`` I dare you to do so! You need at least one hundred more drinking sessions until you are going to be having a level of resistance that could pose a threat to me! ´´, he paused shortly as he was forced to chuckle a bit, then pointed over to the vomit: `` Iowa, you could very well sell this as a modern painting. When it comes to creatively barfing, then I think you might get the better out of me. ´´

`` Thank you very much for the praise admiral! ´´, she answered him in a very sarcastic tone as she winked him the middle finger.

With a forced sigh, Hermann then left the Wiesel in a quick motion through the driver's hatch. Maya followed up, though took a lot longer than him, since she too wasn't feeling well, but not as life threatening as Iowa. After leaving from the top hatch, Hermann who just closed the drivers hatch jumped towards her exit and closed it too. He did not want any animals randomly entering his vehicle or birds building nests in there.

After having his hypothetical fears defeated, Hermann hopped down from the vehicle and joined the two ship girls that were already waiting for him. Iowa up until now had sucked her defeat up and accepted her fate of being the victim of verbal abuse for the rest of the day. She did not seem bitter about the laughter of the other two, since she would have done the same of the tables had been turned.

`` So, now that we have arrived, I would advise to you to just wait around here since I have some things that still need to be worked through. ´´, Hermann said to them.

Maya was not in the best of moods as he revealed to her that she would have to wait until the official meeting: `` Wait, wait, Admiral… Are you saying that instead of just leaving us to our businesses, getting up well and having a more enjoyable morning, you forced us into the waiting game? ´´

`` Yes. ´´

With a light, but still somewhat mad chuckle the heavy cruiser clenched her fists, while she knew that he wanted to be here earlier, she also thought that they were actually needed here, therefore he had to wake them up earlier than needed. `` Fufufufu, tell me Admiral…. What part of you body would you least mind losing? Arm? Leg? Just tell me….´´

Hermann read the situation well enough, thus he was about to prepare some kind of semi-original counter in order to combat the angry heavy cruiser. Revealing his true strength though wasn't an option, as randomly blowing his cover just because he had been forced into some stupid shenanigans wasn't what he truly aimed for. Running sounded a lot better, it would have even made the situation a bit more comedic, so that it looked more like an anime, but this would have just cost him time that he did not have. He still needed to meet up with Nagato in order to discuss some logistical things. All things considered he needed a quick solution to get her out of his way that did not reveal his true self. A serious order was required.

As he was about to form correlating words out of his thoughts, he was quickly interrupted by not too pleasant invaders. In that case they were the ships of the Akizuki destroyer class. In a manner, which one could describe as classic, considering their actions up until now, they formed a well-fortified circle around him in order to keep the raging cruiser at bay. While he was a bit flabbergasted, this sudden revelation gave him a needed excuse to get away quickly, even if it meant that he then needed to get rid of the four destroyers. All in all, he could manage to get this done in a few minutes, meaning that he would have enough time to get things going with Nagato.

So, with his plan in mind Hermann was about to issue an order for the destroyers, keeping Maya away from him in that case. His plan though did not even get a chance to come into fruition as the eventful scene became even more dramatic. Since Hermann only activated his sensors a few seconds before, he was not able to sense the charge that had been aimed at him and while he could have dodged it with his cyborg body, doing so would only raise suspicion about his true self, thus he was only able to mentally steel himself for it

With a loud "thumb" a certain ship girl, notorious for such acts, collided with him and tackled the man down with her. Upon collision, one could easily make out her battle cry, that being "burning love". Nevertheless, the only thing that burned in Hermann now was not the sweet feeling of hot love, but rather a craving dose of annoyance about being tackled to the ground as he did not want to get his clothing ripped apart, as it similarly happened the night before when a dreadnought accidently did tackle him.

`` Don't you have better things to do than randomly pushing people? ´´, Hermann asked her in an unfazed manner.

`` Teitoku don't just assume that I do so! ´´, she pouted at him, but as it was only acting she changed her expression quickly into a joyful one: `` I only push people down that mean a lot to me! ´´

Hermann sighed, not in an annoyed way, rather with a smile as he did not hide his flattery. Still, she stood in his was right now, therefore he hoisted himself up in a manner that did not give away that she was still clinging to him. As she did not waver from his motions, the scene changed from romantic to comedic, since she still clung to the admiral. The four destroyers that swore to protect the admiral were now in a rather downcast mood as they again did not manage to protect him from the fast battleship.

`` Hey don't look like someone just passed on, you still shielded me from this raging buffoon over there. ´´, Herman praised them.

`` How did you just call me?! ´´, she cried over to him.

Hermann put on a playful smile and said to the destroyers: `` See, she is still dangerous! Therefore, I will commence a tactical retreat and I want you lot to cover me while doing so. This is an order, keep her at bay until I am out of reach. ´´

`` Understood! ´´, they answered in unison.

After the affirmation, Hermann jogged off towards the location where he wanted to meet up with Nagato. `` Come back you coward! ´´, Maya shouted at him, but to no avail as he did not give into her taunt.

With this problem solved, he could now focus onto the next one and that was Kongou. She still clung to him, resulting in the comedic image of him running while she still though of him as some kind of transport vehicle. Even though the reason for the clinging was not utilitarian, he did not want to get to affectionate now. Therefore, when he was far enough away from the angered cruiser, he stopped and turned his face towards the ship girl that thought his should was some kind of pillow.

`` My dear, I thin-´´, he suddenly felt something wet on his shoulder. With a quick gaze he correctly identified it as drool: `` Are you fucking drooling on my shirt right now?! ´´, his voice was not so friendly, but still funny for a third party to listen to.

`` Hmmm, Teitoku is comfortable….´´, she drooled on.

Herman, angered by this, grew impatient and therefore was about to painfully remover her form him in various quick and concessive motions which would have included things as jumping and then crashing into the ground. While it certainly sounded gruesome, one needs to consider that Kongou is a ship girl, a battleship to be more precise; thus, not getting hurt by something like this should be a given. Well, Hermann had no doubts that he could harm or even kill her, but that is a whole other issue.

As he was about to get back from his train of thought, a certain other ship girl arrived at their location, her being Kongou's sister ship Haruna. Upon getting her into view, Hermann took on quite a pleased look, since she could very well be the saviour who would pull him out of this pinch.

`` Nee-san, what are you doing to the admiral again? ´´, she cried out to her, then she looked towards Hermann and bowed: `` Admiral, please forgive her. She did not have her morning tea up until now and because of that she is acting in such a way….´´

Hermann sighed, Kongou still clinging to him, and said: `` Firstly, be at ease. Secondly, I shall now guess than why she is behaving in such a way: Kongou here was not so keen with the whole sleeping ordeal, therefore only got the bare minimum of sleep, most likely about only three to fours hours, and since she did not get her needed morning beverage, she probably thinks that this here is some kind of dream. Am I right to at least some degree? ´´

`` Yes, admiral! ´´, she replied in a short manner.

`` Good to hear. Then would you like to get her off me? I still need to get some things done and she would be a bother if I had to discuss confidential things. ´´, he pleaded.

Haruna nodded in agreement and thus began to help Hermann with the arduous task that was removing the now asleep fast battleship. `` She is holding onto me like I am some kind of oversized steel pole that she has to climb up…. Hmmm, Haruna you should grab her by the legs so that we can get that going her. ´´

Haruna followed up, which led to the whole scene looking even more hilarious than it had been before. After she gave him a nod as a sign to proceed, Hermann, whose hands were luckily free, grabbed Kongou's hands. `` Good, now when I count to three we will try to spread her extremities apart, which will hopefully give me an opportunity to escape. Ready? ´´, he asked her and upon receiving a nod as conformation, Hermann started to count: `` One, two, three! ´´

Immediately thy started to pull, Hermann intentionally held back a lot of strength in order to not look suspicious towards Haruna. Seconds later, a little creek appeared between Kongou's former folded hands, which gave the German an opportune time for escape. Therefore, he pushed himself towards the slit between her fingers, purposely winced to make the act perfect and pressed himself out of Kongou's tight embrace.

`` Jesus Christus, hassle would be an understatement, ordeal sounds much better. ´´, Hermann turned towards Haruna, who held Kongou in her arms: `` Still sleeping? ´´

Haruna looked a bit troubled as he uttered his words: `` Ah-ah, Haruna am terribly sorry for that admiral! Haruna will do her best to get Kongou nee-san up and well until the meeting. ´´

Hermann complied with the standard sigh: `` Why are you sorry now? Christ, no point worrying now I guess, just get wake her up until the meeting. ´´

Haruna nodded in agreement and Hermann was about to walk away, but in the last moment remembered a small detail from yesterday: `` Tell me Haruna, are the other two of your class still in hospital? I heard they were badly hurt during the last battle. ´´

With a downcast gaze she replied: `` Yes, admiral…. It was Haruna's fault for that to happen, for Haruna was not able to guard the flank when the enemy breeched it. ´´

Hermann snickered: `` Not it was not. ´´, she looked at him with disbelief, then he continued: `` Coms had been cracked, enemy underestimated, own strength overestimated yada yada. When the enemy got to your position, they did so with an overwhelming force. If you would have tried to stop, certain demise would have awaited you. ´´

`` Haruna would have gladly accepted that to protect her sisters! ´´, she pleaded.

Hermann shook his head: `` Honestly, there is rarely honour in willingly dying….. Certain, unfortunate conditions need to be meet for that to work out, otherwise you will just end up becoming a coward, who ran from the battle. Putting it into context, the moment they got your flank, well, was pretty harsh, but you still had an open rear; thus, the majority was able to retreat. And while your sisters got hurt, they still survived and can fight another day. If you had willingly killed yourself off so that they could have been able to escape unscathed, you would not have only done your country a misdeed by losing a valuable ship, but also driven your sisters into grief. Just imagine the following: How would they have dealt with your loss? If it is comparable to how you do it here, then they would most likely have ended up in a state where they would have been far from peak condition. ´´

`` But admiral, Haruna can't just…..´´

`` My dear, I never said that you needed to be some kind of emotionless terminator. Critically reviewing one's actions is one of the most important procedures in warfare, but you need to do it in a sensible way, a way that can be put into action without costing one's life. ´´

Haruna composed herself and answered: `` Understood! Haruna will try to live up to your expectations! ´´

Hermann sighed: `` That's not directly how I wanted it to end, but fine by me I guess. ´´, he looked at her again as she positioned the still sleeping Kongou onto her back: `` Are you okay with carrying her alone, I could get someone to help. ´´

Haruna shook her head: `` Worry not admiral, Haruna is all right. ´´

Hermann put on a smirk and replied: `` Well, if it's like that, I won't be bothering you any longer. Until we meet again. ´´, Hermann waved her a good bye as he left the place.

A few minutes and hundred metres of tarmac later, Hermann arrived at the designated meeting point at which he wanted the to meet with Nagato before the official meeting. Upon arrival, Hermann was struck with surprise, for he seemed to be the first one there. Hermann would have expected the normally diligent battleship to get here before him, but as it turned out, punctuality wasn't her strength.

Or so Hermann thought.

Behind the building that had been chosen as their meeting point, he was able to make out rather interesting noises. They sounded like someone who was trying to communicate with an animal, but most brain cells had momentarily been deactivated. Normally one would hear such voices when rather weak-willed people saw a cute dog or cat, but someone fitting in this category should not have become a soldier. Adding these things now into context, Hermann deduced that it had to be a ship girl, anything other would not have looked good for this base.

Three wide steps later, Hermann turned around the corner of the building and was able to identify said person. True to his assumption, it really was a ship girl. However, it had not been a destroyer like he expected, rather it was the person he least predicted it to be. The all-so proud and dignified Nagato had turned into a mindless zombie of blabbering, captivated by the cute eyes of a squirrel, which roamed around the naval base.

At first, she did not really recognize that the Admiral stood before her, but after a few seconds and a relatively loud "ahhmm" being uttered by Hermann, the seemingly bipolar battleship jumped up from her former location and grew red like a strawberry. Even some tears formed around her eyes and instead of forming consistent sentences, her speech most likely still remained with the little mammal: `` I-I aham ca-ccan ex-ppp-l-´´

Hermann cut her off with explosive laughter, the German who up until now never held back his amusement followed this trend even now and would still do so in the most precarious situations. This time though it had reached a new level quite easily as the absurdity of what just transpired before his eyes pierced through any barriers of decency. Comparable to the reaction coming from a Monty Python sketch, Hermann easily broke the decibel scale with his laughter. Nagato though, instead of not taking herself too serious and therefore joining the fun, wanted to die right now. She always tried to be the ideal ship girl; proud, determined and full of honour. Right now, she was none of those three things, just a pitiful existence.

A small glint of these emotions was recognisable in her eyes and Herman caught these expressions quickly. So, he decided to abruptly stop his show of laughter and to try his hands at rapid damage control. First step were some words of comfort: `` Nagato my dear, don't be so freaking hard to yourself. Everyone has a guilty pleasure, even the strongest. Instead of whining about them, turn them into a strength of yours. ´´, in order to proceed he stretched a hand towards her.

The still ashamed ship girl though refused his offer of instant relief: `` Admiral, I am not worthy of any longer being the secretary….´´

First attempt failed right away, initiating the second: `` Are you kidding me? You act like some kind of unwavering maountain in the face of a storm, but the moment someone gets you from behind you crumble all? Look at yourself! Should someone who normally radiates with dignity sob around just like that? Get a grip for god's sake and show the world that you are stronger than that! ´´, this time he tried his luck with harsher words and a commanding tone.

Luckily for him, Nagato's prideful nature kicked in and thus was able to climb over this obstacle. She sobbed up, washed away the last tears and took Hermann's still outstretched hand. Hermann then threw a smirk at her in conformation for her brave deeds and congratulated her: `` Well done, you have shown strength when being confronted by your utmost fears! Now, instead of ever again acting in such a way, you will walk this plane with more confidence and show the world your true self. ´´

After giving him a conformational bow, she then added: `` One plea, I still have for you admiral. Would have the time to hear me out? ´´

`` Very well. Tell me your desire. ´´

`` Tell no one about what you saw me doing before. If you do so, I will even….. ´´, she paused for a short moment, looked down with her eyes and grew a bit red: `` …do certain things. ´´

Hermann saw in this misunderstanding another way of teasing someone: `` Hmmm, if you really mean that then we have to confirm this. Not with a hand shake though. ´´

`` W-what do y-you mean? ´´, she stuttered a bit as her recently built up confidence wavered again.

`` A kiss. ´´, Hermann started the teasing game.

`` H-huh? ´´, she was surprised.

`` Hmmm, let's kiss, then this contract and my lips will be sealed. What do you say? ´´

`` ah-ahm, I-I d-don…. ´´, she dug up some confidence and faced him: `` Very well! ´´

Hermann smirked at her commitment, then came closer to her. Nagato, very flustered now, closed her eyes and grew even redder. While kissing her would be some kind of achievement for certain people, he only looked forward to her following reactions to his teasing as they were finest entertainment for him.

The seconds now felt like hours for her as Hermann slowly came closer to her face. Her senses reached new heights under so much stress, even for ship girl, which lead to her sniffing out varying things. At first there was his body heat, which seemed to radiate with ever growing intensity, then there was the smell of Hermann's deodorant, that he applied in the morning. But there was also the faint smell of tequila, coming from a bottle that he carried with him. Using her proximity sensors, she found out that he was only centimetres now away from her, slowly but steady coming closer. The weight of the now approaching action weight ever heavier upon her shoulders, but Hermann showed no signs of similar behaviour.

*flick* Nothing more, nothing less. Hermann just quickly delivered a light flick towards the anxious Nagato. Upon impact, her head falls back in a very comedic sense, like she just had been hit by a cannon ball, only that it really just was the tip of Hermann's middle finger. This of course invoked great amusement in Hermann's mind, his plan succeeded just as he devised it a minute ago. The still somewhat shocked Nagato couldn't really make sense out of his actions, at first, he wanted to force his lips upon her, but then he just led it end as a joke.

Anger. This emotion filled her now to the brim, not only did he not take her serious, he also completely and utterly made a foul out of him. Here she was, waiting for him to kiss her, but he just played this number on her. With her honour and dignity completely shattered, she looked at him in a predatorial way; she would pay him back! Thus, she acted quickly in order to catch him off-guard. Two steps forward, closing in on the still laughing jester. Grabbing his shoulders, so that she got a good hold on him. And then she did what he formerly announced to do; she kissed him.

Not just a quick pick though, Nagato held nothing back as she fired at him with full force, making hi understand what a battleship's broadsided truly is. She even put in some passion, if it was just acted or actually honest, nobody could tell, but she just couldn't let him get the better of her. She was the flagship of this fleet and would never waver. The action lasted for a few more seconds.

Hermann however anticipated this the moment he caught the first glimpse of fire inside of her eyes. Dodging this bold move would have only revealed his secrets, therefore not an option, but he couldn't just let her win, after she challenged his competitive spirit with this move. So, he quickly devised a new plan, that would incorporate her getting a hold of the lead first but taking it back in the aftermath of the battle. He just waited for her to part his lips, then instead of being surprised and flustered like one would expect, he will confront her with the complete opposite.

Nagato grew in confidence with every second. The admiral wasn't a bad person in her opinion and while she still thought that he lacked sincerity, she still believed him to dependable. With this in mind, the battleship viewed this more like a challenged which he issued her, than just him teasing her. And Nagato would never back down form one.

After seven seconds of smooching passed, she parted lips with the German and took on her standard look, representing pride and an unwavering spirit. This would surely impress the admiral. But just as surprising as her reaction to Hermann's head flick was, so was his reaction to her kiss. A smirk. He even chuckled at her. Not flushed cheeks, no stammering, only his contend face bearing an intrigued expression. He locked her down with his eyes and said: `` Not bad, not bad! I really have to say this, for a beginner with close to no experience than some dirty magazines, you really showed me some of your inert talent. Hmmm, if you want more, than you can always call me, Nagato-chan. ´´, he finished her off with witty words, letting her stand dumbfounded. Still, he did not have too much time to spare as the meeting would commence in fifteen minutes: `` Well, meeting is going to start soon, therefore I will just talk with you about the essentials. ´´

Nagato was still flabbergasted, she stood there not really getting a gist as all of her actions turned to just have been in vain. Hermann could have pushed the offensive now, but that would have only harmed her confidence more than it already had been. So, he gave her the needed time for recovery and patiently waited three seconds for her to come back to planet earth.

`` Ahhh, shit, yes admiral! ´´, she replied.

`` Hmmm, very well then. There are three things which need to be done today: First one is the upcoming meeting that will deal with things like training et cetera. Then I will need you as a guide, so that I do not lose the way when visiting the ship girls that are still in hospital or repair dock, don't know what it really is. ´´, Nagato pointed out that it was the latter, he then went on: `` And lastly, I need to know where I can issue a subscription for a weekly food delivery. Keeping check on my fridge is enough work alone, therefore someone else should deal with the one in my office. Concerning the first aspect of my neat list here, could you enlighten about how training was handled here before I became the executive? I don't need an extensive explanation; the most important aspects will suffice. ´´

Nagato replied: `` Up until now training consisted of two parts. The first one being a theoretical part, were mostly tactical aspects are being taught. Then there is live-action training, consisting of teamwork training, weaponry and mock battles. And concerning the food delivery, I think that should be doable. ´´

`` Good. Were the ship girls put into consisting teams or would these be put into place sporadically? ´´, he asked.

`` Good that you ask, admiral. This had been bothering me up until now, as it truly had been the second option you just listed. The negative effects of such inept behaviour were shown in the last battle when the enemy put more pressure onto us than usually. ´´

Hermann sighed: `` Problematic indeed; squads need to work perfectly together; the best is just good enough in that sense. The other things can not be changed as they are essentials. However, I might have a look in the tactical curriculum in order to adapt it in my strategies and vice-versa. ´´, he paused shortly as he looked at his phone in order to check the time: `` Meeting is soon gonna start, we better get ourselves moving or we will be late. ´´

`` Yes, admiral. ´´, Nagato firmly replied to the admiral.

Before they could march off towards the meeting point in front of the training dock, Hermann's second phone suddenly ringed. He quickly reacted towards the ringing with an annoyed sigh and successively put his smartphone away. Quick motions followed, he then had switched the phones, saw the person who was calling him and picked the call up: `` Am Apperat, mach es kurz; hab noch einiges zu tun…´´ (Tl: Listening, keep it short; still have a lot to do. )

Hermann's words were followed by several sounds of agreement as he carefully listened to the caller's words, he tried to put up a chilled composure, his annoyance however was very obvious. Several moments later he added: `` Verstanden, geht mir zwar ziemlich auf die Nerven, aber da kann man jetzt auch nichts mehr machen. Hoffentlich hast do noch einen schönen Tag Sepp. Tschüss. ´´ (Tl: Understood, this is certainly getting on my nerves, but we can't do anything about it any longer. Hopefully, you can have a good day Sepp. Good bye. )

Hermann waited for the other man's reply and then cancelled the call. Nagato was now somewhat intrigued about the sudden call and therefore asked Hermann what it was about. Since he was still annoyed about the phone call's subject, he replied in an aggravated fashion: `` Jesus Christus, if I get the person responsible for that shit into my hands, then he definitely will be pushing daises form six feet below, I tell ya that. You want to know what's pissing me off? Fine. For formal reasons those douches had to assign a freaking bodyguard to me. ´´

Nagato was somewhat puzzled at his answer, she further inquired: `` And that is why you are so annoyed? ´´

`` Girl, it is just as I said it. For no apparent reason at all I am getting a freaking bodyguard! It's not like I can't properly defend myself, for fu-´´, he paused as the weight of his words and to what they could lead became clearer to him: `` That however is not the big problem here, the main issue is that there are four destroyers here who think that they need to act as my bodyguards. Combine this attitude with the information that there will be someone coming to be my official bodyguard…..´´, he paused shortly: `` Just the stress of imagining this gives me a goddam migraine and grey hair! Also this will not be some kind of standard bodyguard, rather they decided to send me some kind of proto cyborg/ship girl for the means of testing. Ahhh, but fuck that right now, there is more important stuff to do. ´´, Hermann cursed as he walked towards the designated meeting point.

Nagato silently followed the man as she did not want to further his anger by asking obvious or unnecessary questions about these circumstances. Politeness and the expected courtesy are most important in such moments, lessons like these had been imprinted into her artificial mind from construction on. Nagato should represent her countries traditional values. Nevertheless, she did not only get the good stuff, but also carried with a her an air of superiority and blatant arrogance. And while the first one is not a bad thing for person who is supposed to lead her comrades, too much will only accelerate the downfall.

Several steps later, both of them arrived at the place only half a minute too late, about which Hermann of course silently complained as even the smallest delay felt like a disgrace to him. Upon arrival, he spotted several know, but also a lot of unknow faces. In order to skip any formalities with the know ones, he quickly cut it too a chase with a hand wave and spoke: `` First of all, it is good to see that most of you took this serious enough and came to this meeting. Those who are still in the repair docks are of course excused and will receive a bare bone script of this here when I visit the repair docks. ´´

`` There are several aspects that I need to talk about right now. The first one, which is also the one most important, concerns the rather lax team building rules which up until now reigned supreme here. Yesterday I devised a general strategy for combat, which also includes the fleet composition. The main spear head will be consisting of several squads that will be made up of three destroyers and one light cruiser. I have yet to further detail these squads, therefore if you wish to be part of a certain squad then I would advise you to file in a written application for that, so I can put it to use. ´´

`` Concerning battle situations, teamwork does not only need to be consistent, but also fluid. One needs to know all bits and pieces about their squad members, otherwise defeat will be on the advent. "If you know your enemy and yourself, you don't need to fear the outcome of any battle." I want you to memorize these words very well as they are one of the basic principles of warfare. Furthermore, I will also be evaluating your standard live-action training regime, in order to implement further strategies. Most likely there will also be changes and additions in the theoretical part of training. ´´

`` My second point to make is about communication between us here. I don't know how it was handled before I arrived here, but I would like to tell the way how I handle such things. Most importantly, I have an open-door policy concerning direct communication, thus if there is something you are concerned about, you can very well just knock on the door in my office and start a conversation. If I can not talk right now, for which reason that maybe, I will put a sign before the door, so that everyone is informed. ´´, then he pulled out his smartphone: `` I do not know if all of you have a phone, but if possible, we could create a Q&A group with the additional purpose of announcing events. You can also mail me if you like it more formal, but I don't really care about how you do it, as that is not particularly important. I am not someone who will dismiss your complains or arguments because of my higher rank, but if there is one thing that I would like to be absolutely be clear about, that would be a need to for respectful dialogue. Just as I will listen to you, I want you to listen to me and, when your criticism had been rationally dismissed, to accept the loss and learn for it. For now, that is everything, all of those who are interested in joining the already mentioned message-group, I want you to give your number to Nagato. I appreciate your attention and wish a good day to everyone. ´´, Hermann repeated one of his copy-paste phrases as he slowly walked away from his central position.

To his surprise more than half of the ship girls immediately went to Nagato in order to get their phone numbers on the list, some following after. This though played into Hermann's hands as it meant that he could safely walk away from the crowd without getting stopped by anyone who had "sudden complains" or wanted small-talk. Right now, there were still many things to do, list had to be made, papers had to be signed and he still had to visit the ship girls in the repair docks, Hermann however was not completely spared, this time not by over-protective destroyers or a sleep walking battleship, rather by a heavy cruiser that had remained notorious in Hermann's mind due to a stolen bottle of vodka.

`` Hey, you could at least have greeted me..´´, she remarked in a somewhat envious way, accompanied by a pout.

Hermann shrugged her off by chuckling: `` Girl, even I can't think about one hundred things at the same time and work sometimes comes before formalities. ´´

`` I am not a formality…..´´, she muttered silently: `` Still, I at least need some attention Echii-Teitoku. ´´

As his now official nickname was uttered, Hermann broke out into a light-hearted laugh and added: `` I am not even mad about the name, it's fitting well I guess. Furthermore, I actually have something for you. ´´

Suzuya's eyes gleamed at his words: `` Really? Really? ´´

Hermann nodded in approval and pulled a small bottle out of his trousers: `` Here! Some good Vodka, so you don't have to worry about it. ´´

Suzuya took the small flask into her hand and contrary to her sometimes stuck up and childish behaviour, she laughed about the situational joke. Interrupting the chuckling though was the scolding voice of another ship girl, wearing practical the same clothes as Suzuya, but having light brown hair: `` Nee-san are you again keeping the admiral form his work? ´´, she turned to Hermann: `` I am very sorry for that. ´´

Before Suzuya could complain about the interruption, Hermann shrugged her off: `` Don't worry, I got the perfect opportunity for a practical joke because of her, therefore giving me time to do contrary things to the standard concerning. ´´

Kumano sighed, but accepted it: `` Fine, fine I get it, I am the party crasher again. Well but someone needs to be the one doing it. ´´, she turned to her sister after some self-concerned muttering: `` Nevertheless, Nee-san you should not keep the admiral form work all too long, he definitely has a lot of things to do. ´´

`` I don't think that he loo-´´, Suzuya though was interrupted by her sister as she suddenly picked her up and walked away.

Hermann could only shrug in disbelief, but after two seconds he accepted this chain of events without investing any more though into it. Next goal would be his office; thus, he pointed the tips of his feet towards the Wiesel that was still standing alongside the training area. Upon arrival though he noticed the figure of a certain person, who he actually expected to arrive sooner or later. For the location however, he narrowed it down to his office, but as a matter of fact, that won't change anything in his mental checklist.

`` Good morning, what can I do for you? ´´, he greeted the woman in her blue uniform.

`` Darling, why don't you sign this paper? I would mean a lot to me….´´, she said as she held a rather suspicious paper towards him.

Hermann quickly gazed at the paper, deducing that it indeed was an official marriage form, just as he thought it to be. His reply came shortly after, chuckling and a standard negative answer by shaking his head.

In accordance the woman in front of him pouted at his response, slightly, but playfully, glaring at him. Hermann then continued his head shaking and added a sigh to further emphasize his emotional stand point. To increase it ever more, he said: `` Christ, ohh Christ…. This shouldn't be a fictional world, thought out and orchestrated by a someone whose only clear picture of loves comes from stupid rom-coms and harem anime. Better take a sip to deal with this. ´´ Hermann acted the way as he announced just before and pulled a small flask of tequila from his pocket. He quickly took the lion's share of the Mexican agave spirit, it's spiciness slowly wandering down his throat. `` Still, if I have one thing to say, which would come close to a complement than it would be the superb quality of the nude you sent me yesterday. ´´, he continued.

Homura was delighted by his, this time affirmative, response towards one of her acts. This though would need to be celebrated, leading to her engaging in an onslaught of overreacting affection as she stormed towards him, ready to initiate a hug. Contrary to what would be expected, Hermann neither dodged or had been pushed down by it, instead he accepted it, hoping that it would not last all-too ling as he still had many things to work out. He even though about patting her head like a dog, this would have given him something to laugh about and her something to be excited about.

But before anything close to that could even start to happen, a rude American voice called him out from behind: `` Hey, admiral! Instead of fooling around you could at least give me some info about what I am supposed to do! ´´

Hermann, with the girl still clinging on him, turned around and replied: `` Seems like the puking session restored your aggressive spirit. Such a recovery rate is commendable, if I could, I certainly would give a medal for your prowess here. ´´, he paused shortly: `` Well, I guess you are somehow right, but I too do not know what you are exactly supposed to do now as your arrival had been more of an unexpected wildcard than some long-sought after gift from heaven. ´´

Iowa, somewhat flabbergasted about his unfazed reaction towards her calling him out and the woman still clinging to him, then added: `` Isn't it your job to know such things? ´´

`` My job is to command you, manage your training, to bring victory and to deal with a lot of paperwork. I am not here to design your daily lifestyle, show your around this place and to a further extend be knowledgeable about every act around here. I will call someone who can show you around, but I don't think you will be happy about the person I am calling. ´´, he said as he pulled out his phone.

`` Is it the cunt? ´´, she asked in a bitter tone.

`` My, my I don't think you should speak about a comrade of yours in such a harsh tone. If you mean the battleship Nagato, then yes, I will call her as she is the only one here I could actually task with something like this. ´´, he answered.

All this time along, from the beginning of the conversation towards the present, the clingy Homura knew that the ship girl talking to her darling had the same smell as on of the two girls whose smell she pointed out yesterday on the shooting range. Now she stood within reach, if Homura acted fast she could theoretically get at her before Hermann could act and quickly eliminate her so that he could be safe form those whores. In Homuras twisted mind, only she was allowed to be in touch with him.

Hermann though was able to quickly realize this intent and in one of his pauses of dialogue, he commanded her with a glance to not attack. In this case the moment of surprise, needed to bypass Hermann's reaction was not there anymore and she would no longer be able to rip Iowa's head off. If she were to try now, Hermann could easily grab her and toss her into the sea or at some building. Covering it would not be all to hard, as he could just say that he got annoyed with her clingy attitude and Homura wasn't even resisting. In this situation he was in a much better position, therefore she refrained from acting to not infuriate her darling.

Back to the present, Hermann was currently calling the all so proud Nagato, whose image of being a solemn rock in the face of a storm her busted by seeing her well-guarded secret of being a love of cute things. He ringed once, the she picked up the call. After hearing a "yes Admiral", Hermann said: `` Nagato, I need you to do me a little favour, even if it makes you a bit uncomfortable. ´´

Having received an unwavering affirmation, he went on: `` Fine, then I want you to head towards my current location, I am standing beside a rather small tank, about fifty metres away from the training area. Afterwards I need you to guide a certain American ship girl around this place here and show her the dorms. ´´

The battleship remained silent for around three seconds, if she were to face Hermann, he would surely be able to make out the grim expression that had formed on her face. Nevertheless, he issued an order and it is her duty as a proud secretary ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy to follow it, even if it is about to spell doom for her. Thus she agreed with a short, but convincing "understood" and ended the call to show him her dissatisfaction. Hermann in correspondence put the phone away and turned towards Iowa: `` Well, said cunt will be coming now and showing you around. I hope you will find it possible to not lash out on her. ´´

Iowa scuffed: `` I wouldn't even have said anything if that fucking annoyance didn't just blatantly insult. But fine, fuck it, I will hold my horses for now. Gotta pay you back for the alcohol and the housing! ´´, she replied with a wink.

While it was certainly a polite gesture coming from her, Hermann had been immediately overwhelmed by a feeling of dread as she uttered the word "housing". Not because he was someone to be easily embarrassed or so, no, he was actually afraid of the girl that still clung to him and her psychotic tendencies. Until now, several seconds after Iowa worded this, she remained without movement. Nevertheless, she mumbled something, with an ever-louder growing voice.

`` Housing…Housing….Housing…..Housing. That…..that m-means sleeping…´´, she looked at Hermann with a crazed gaze: `` Darling, did this thing sleep at your bungalow last night? ´´

Iowa was about to react towards her being called a "thing", but Hermann cut her off with a distressed stare and quickly waved her good bye as he turned around and ran towards the Wiesel. Jumping on top of the tracked vehicle, Hermann then was quick to react as he dropped the female maniac, who was not far away from a total crack, into the tankette. Before he joined, his head turned towards Iowa: `` Look, Nagato's already coming and I got no time to explain now. Bye, bye. ´´

Microseconds later, Hermann entered the vehicle, where he was quickly assaulted by the woman. Nothing short of a brawl started in the small interior of the vehicle. Her goal in that sense was to somehow push him down onto the floor and do immoral things to him. Hermann however wanted to avoid this, there are still many administrative things left to get done and he didn't have the time to do it to her right now. Additionally, the hatch on top of the Wiesel was not locked, meaning that suspicious ship girls and other personnel could easily look inside if they were to do it and from his past experiences he knew that Homura tended to get loud when having sex.

Luckily for the German, he was stronger than the female specialist and therefore soon got the chance to push her down instead. With most other people, this would have meant that defeat had to be excepted, but Homura wasn't most other people. The moment he was able to push her down onto the sparsely available floor in the tankette, she looked at him in an aroused way, literally offering herself up to him. He could only sigh at such development, true, he would have liked to grind something down, but he just didn't have the time right now and he had no repercussions when it came to rejecting people. Thus, he concluded: `` Girl, later. Not now, as I have a lot of things left to do. ´´

With a pouting face, she replied: `` Hmph!´´, she then stretched out her left pinky finger: `` Promise then? ´´

Hermann reluctantly agreed to this proposal with a grumpy "fine" and crossed her finger with his. After having resolved this, he moved to the driver's seat and sat down in order to start the engine. Btu before he was able to do so, he was cut off by the woman behind him as she slowly crept upon his shoulder and whispered into his ear: `` Still, darling we have to do something about these pesky girls, don't you think? Those kids shouldn't be coming to close to you or they could get hurt, remember that you only need me….´´

Hermann added his standard sigh and shook his head: `` Christ o christ, I think you could stop that act crazed lovey-dovey act for now. Got enough Yandere-shit after watching Mirai Nikki, mate. But seriously, what do you even find so attractive in me? ´´

She answered him with a bright smile: `` Your eyes, your smile, your crazed nature in combat, your tendencies to rape and cannibalistic tendencies when it comes to the enemy. All of it. Darling, I love all about you, safe for your resisting nature when it comes to my unwavering love. That's something you need to change about yourself. ´´

He scratched his head: `` I don't really think so but considering all your actions that won't be changing your way of thinking. Homura, you should know that I will not engage in any kind of love-relationship. The concept of binding myself to someone, leading to a mutual dependency is neither something I desire nor would fit into my current lifestyle. ´´

Instead of reacting negatively to his outright rejection, she beamed at him: `` Don't worry if you don't change by yourself than I will be the one changing you, darling. ´´

Hermann chuckled: `` Many have tried, many have failed. Do what you want, but if you join their ranks, don't sob around and do something productive. Changing the topic, since you are in my vehicle is I guess there certainly is a place where I am now supposed to drop you off. ´´

She nodded, Hermann went on: `` Pray tell? ´´

She smirked and said: `` At your office, admiral. From now on I am the official vice admiral of this fleet and your personal advisor when it comes to the politics around here. ´´

Hermann grew a bit pale as he deduced the meaning behind her words, which he at first though to be something cryptic, but after running countless simulations in his head found to the quite literal. `` You have got to be kidding me…. How in the name of Christ were you able to get this position?! I mean you are a specialist for fucks sake! ´´

`` Darling, don't be so mean to time. Certainly, you as someone who worked in the same sector as me should show some understanding. ´´

`` But contrary to you I went into military academy and even before getting into this position had experience with subordinates under my command. In that case I will have to teach the bits and pieces of this to you…. Ahhh, fuck it better having someone who is at least competent when it comes to military matters. If I had gotten some officer wanna-be who never set foot on a battlefield I would have surely needed double the amount of booze. ´´, Hermann added as he slowly drowned his remaining sorrows with sweet tequila.

Homura chuckled in reply: `` I will value these compliments dear to me, darling. ´´

Hermann raised his right hand: `` One thing thou, during work please address me as Scipio, admiral or even dude if you like, can't have you calling me darling or Hermann there. ´´´

She agreed to his proposal and soon got into the passenger's position of the Wiesel, just as she did so, Hermann brought the engine to a start and took off with the vehicle. The short and uneventful voyage finished, Hermann and Homura found themselves in the backyard of the Hermann's office which he hopped was now freed of any rubble. With quick and gracious motions both of them jumped out of the tankette, thus reaching the backdoor rather quickly compared to standard walking. Hermann was about to start the hassle of finding the fitting key, then Homura quickly cut in: `` Furthermore, I was able to get your request handled quickly. ´´

Hermann was surprised: `` Really? That's cool, I imagined this would at least take the whole week to get done. How in the name of Christ did you manage to do this? ´´, realization hit him: `` Don't tell that you threatened the administrative division? ´´

Answering the question without words as she looked away and tried her best to whistle in a stereotypical way, Hermann was sighing once more: `` If something like this happens again I don't think that it will just pass by. ´´

Homura laughed: `` I am just kidding, used some of my influence that I got after doing some favours for the government like killing important people and so on. ´´

`` Should've known better, even you wouldn't be allowed to randomly go around and threaten people, safe for a certain ship girl. Why did you even start this? I mean, you as a specialist shouldn't have anything to do with ship girls as these occupations are in completely different sectors. ´´

`` Well, you are not completely in the wrong here, but there are a lot of places that you will run into them. Cantina for example or various training grounds, but if that had been reason for my actions than I would be torturing all of them. Rather, as you certainly found out last night, this kid tends to do a lot of secret training in the night and as a fellow night dweller we were soon to run into each other, in that case me stalking her for hours and then deciding on what to do with this puppy. She acted so immature, was so full of herself and couldn't get a grasp of reality. Crushing this dream world of her is pure bliss, surely you understand admiral? ´´, she told with a slightly aroused face.

Hermann chuckled a bit and replied with a gleeful gaze: `` After having to supress all of my urges for so long, it makes me quite delighted to hear something like that, it really does. Normally, I would have instantly joined the fun, but as she is a valuable asset and thus I can't just wreck her completely. To put in other words: A toy should not be destroyed. ´´

Homura smiled back at him: `` See, this is why I love you. ´´

Herman continued with his head shaken: `` And as I said before, relationships are not for me. But more importantly, I managed to get the right key figured out in under one minute. New record in that sense, but for now I just want to look how everything had been set up here. ´´

`` Concerning that, I added something which you have seemed to have forgotten on the list you had that bitch fill out. ´´, she interrupted as he was about to open.

Hermann was a bit surprised: `` Okay, putting the first part of your statement besides for a while, I am more interested as to how you found out that she filled out the papers. ´´

`` I just took a look at them and immediately realized that it was not your writing. ´´, she replied a bit taken aback by Hermann's indirect accusation.

`` Really? Girl, I thought that you were stalking me during work like you did back on your trip to my office in Germany. ´´, he sighed.

`` Weren't that good memories, Admiral? ´´, she beamed at him.

`` Getting back to old times, aren't ya. But there is no kidding about, that freaking week was a whole lotta fun. Especially when I showed you the R&D area where he kept the abyssal for testing. Jesus, that one is still suffering from PTSD, those weaklings can't take a punch. ´´, he sighed in a disappointed manner.

`` Hmm, you can't really compare them and us in such manners, they are like children in that sense. On other hand you are someone who acts like nothing happened after he got his right arm ripped off by some abyssal creature. ´´, she replied.

`` Good, composure in combat is a crucial thing. Also, in that battle I still had my left arm and support from not only you, but also my squad. Thus, I didn't really see the threat of suddenly loosing my life there. ´´, he added as he walked into the building with her.


End file.
